A medium-range Russian Air Force bomber has crashed during a training flight in Siberia, according to Russian news reports on Monday.
The crew of the Tu-22M3 were able to eject safely, the Ministry of Defence told Russian news agencies. “There is no danger to the pilots’ lives. There is no damage on the ground,” the statement said. The bomber was reportedly not carrying any missiles.
According to official reports, the aircraft crashed while attempting to land near the village of Kamenka in the Baikal region of Irkutsk.
The Tupolev Tu-22M3 is part of Russia’s strategic air force and is theoretically capable of firing missiles with nuclear warheads.
Moscow is deploying the bombers in its war against Ukraine to launch cruise missiles at the neighbouring country from a great distance.
Ukraine has already attempted on several occasions to destroy aircraft of this type and says it has succeeded on multiple occasions.
Experts estimate that there are still around 60 such aircraft in Russia, meaning that each loss is considered significant. However, no official figures confirm the exact number in service.
