Putin’s nuclear aircraft SHOT DOWN by Ukraine as sudden plunge from sky caught on camera
A Russian nuclear bomber has been shot down for the first time by Ukrainian defence officials.
Moscow’s defence ministry said the Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber was shut down in southern Stavropol region, hundreds of kilometres from Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Kremlin officials said the crash appeared to have been caused by a technical malfunction.
Following the Russian statement, Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said Kyiv had “destroyed” the warplane.
He said: “For the first time, anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Force, in cooperation with the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, destroyed a Tu-22M3 long-range strategic bomber, a carrier of Kh-22 cruise missiles used by Russian terrorists to attack peaceful Ukrainian cities.”
Ukrainian officials said the warplane took part in an airstrike that killed at least eight people, including two children, in the central Dnipropetrovsk region.
Missiles rained down on the city of Dnipro and the surrounding region in the early hours, damaging residential buildings, the main train station and wounding at least 28 civilians.
President Volodmir Zelensky said: “Russia must be held accountable for its terror, and every missile, every Shahed (drone) must be shot down. The world can guarantee this, and our partners have the necessary capabilities.”
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An intelligence source said that Kyiv had used a modified S-200 air defence missile for the attack on the fighter but did not say where it had been fired from. The S-200 is a Soviet-era long-range surface-to-air missile system.
The four Russian air force crew members ejected from the warplane; two were rescued, one died and a rescue operation was under way for the fourth, the Russian regional governor said.
Civilians in a residential building that was hit in Dnipro said they were shaken up. The five-storey building’s top floor was partially destroyed, officials said. Firefighters battled to put out a fire early in the morning.
Serhii, a resident, said: “My wife and daughter are in shock. They say they won’t go back to the apartment and asked me to evacuate them somewhere because they won’t be able to stay here anymore.”
Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Serhiy Lysak said: “Dnipropetrovsk region survived hell. But who do the Russians want to break with their missiles? No one can unite around a shared tragedy like the Ukrainians do.”
Russia denies targeting civilians during its airstrikes and says the energy system is a legitimate target, but hundreds of civilians have been killed during air strikes.
State-run railways company Ukrzaliznytsia said Russia targeted its infrastructure in the attack and that one of its workers was killed.