Ukraine may have just scored its longest-range drone strike yet in Russian territory — a Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber around 1,100 miles away

Cameron Manley
·3 min read
4
Ukraine may have just scored its longest-range drone strike yet in Russian territory — a Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber around 1,100 miles away

  • Ukraine says it struck a Tu-22M3 bomber around 1,100 miles from its border.

  • This would be Ukraine's deepest strike on Russian territory since the war began.

  • The Tu-22M3 is a long-range supersonic bomber designed to take out sea- and ground-based targets.

Ukraine said it hit a Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber a record-breaking 1,100 miles from its borders, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Saturday, citing sources in the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

The sources said that Ukraine had used reconnaissance drones to strike Olenya airfield in Murmansk in northwestern Russia, which they said was "the base of the strategic aircraft of the Russian occupiers."

If confirmed, it would mark the deepest attack on Russian territory that Ukraine has carried out since the start of the war, while also raising major questions about Russia's air defenses.

It would beat the previous record of just over 800 miles, which was set in May when Ukraine hit an oil refinery in Salavat, in Russia's republic of Bashkortostan.

Satellite imagery of Olenya airfield, reviewed by Business Insider, shows a large number of bombers at the site.

Defense blogger David Axe reported that the Olenya airbase is regularly home to around 63 Tu-22M3s, 55 Tu-95s, and 17 Tu-160s.

Olenya airbase satellite image
Satellite image of Olenya airbase showing a horde of Russian bombers.Google Earth

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Bloomberg also reported the attack, citing a person familiar with the operation.

Russia's defense ministry has not commented on the reports.

Ukraine has ramped up its attacks on Russian airfields in recent months.

Mick Ryan, a retired Australian army general, wrote on Substack earlier this year that such attacks could "force a Russian reassessment of their air defense resources as well as having to redeploy these assets further from where they are most needed."

But the attack on Olenya, if confirmed, would suggest Russian aircraft are vulnerable even deep inside Russian territory.

A Tu-22M3 bomber of the Russian air forces flies over the Mediterranean after taking off from the Hemeimeem Air Base in Syria, on Feb. 19, 2022.
A Tu-22M3 bomber.Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File

Tu-22M3

The Tu-22M3 is a "long-range supersonic missile carrier bomber" designed to take out sea- and ground-based targets using guided missiles and aerial bombs, according to its manufacturer Tupolev's website.

The head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, previously told BBC Ukraine that the Soviet-era aircraft carries Kh-22 missiles, adding that the munitions "have perhaps brought the most destruction" to Odesa in southern Ukraine.

Ukraine said it took out its first Tu-22M3 of the war back in April at an airbase in southern Russia around 200 miles from Ukraine.

A video shared on X appeared to show the bomber falling through the sky.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said earlier this month that it had foiled a Ukrainian plot to hijack a Tu-22M3 and fly it to Ukraine.

"Ukrainian intelligence intended to recruit a Russian military pilot for a monetary reward and the provision of Italian citizenship, to persuade him to fly and land a missile carrier in Ukraine," the FSB said on its website, Reuters reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider