Ukraine says bomber downed as Russia launches deadly strike

Ukraine said it shot down a Russian strategic bomber in combat for the first time since the Kremlin’s invasion began after the aircraft launched a missile strike that left at least seven people dead in the central Dnipro region.

The Tu-22M3 was downed some 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the Ukrainian border after launching missiles, Ukraine’s military intelligence, or GUR, said on its website. It was the first successful hit against this type of bomber since the start of Russia’s invasion, GUR said. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry also confirmed the strike.

The Ukrainian military’s success in taking down the plane comes as the U.S. is expected to vote within days on long-delayed military aid, and as allies fear that Ukraine’s ability to hold the line on defense is waning as Russia’s full-scale invasion grinds through a third year.

At least one of pilots was killed, two survived, and another was missing, TASS reported, citing the local governor in Stavropol. Russia’s military confirmed the crash, saying it was caused by a technical failure, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news service.

The downing of the jet opens a new vulnerability for President Vladimir Putin’s military, which relies on its fleet of Soviet-era bombers as the main tool in its missile campaign against neighboring Ukraine. The supersonic aircraft, designed during the Cold War, is able to launch strikes from deep within Russian territory, and so far remained effectively untouchable for Ukraine’s air defenses.

Kyiv has been secretive about its capacity to down targets inside Russia. The jet was destroyed using the same type of weapon previously used to down an A-50 radio surveillance airplane, GUR said without elaborating. Ukraine reported downing an A-50 near the Sea of Azov in January and another in February over Russia.

Deadly Barrage

The overnight strike on Dnipro damaged several apartment blocks in the city and more than 60 residential homes elsewhere in the region, as well as infrastructure, leaving 35 people injured, regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram. At least nine people were originally thought to have died, according to authorities.

The city, whose pre-war population was almost 1 million people, is Ukraine’s main hub closest to the battlefield. Air-defence forces said they downed 15 of the 22 missiles launched, as well as all 14 explosive-laden drones.

Russian missiles also hit Pivdennyi port facilities on the Black Sea that belong to Singapore as well as Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told participants in a Ukraine-NATO council meeting on Friday.

Ukraine has been hit with almost 1,200 Russian rockets since the beginning of this year, Zelenskiy told the participants, as he pleaded for more air-defense systems. NATO allies have identified additional equipment, including Patriot and SAMP/T systems, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters after the meeting, adding he expected “announcements in the near future.”

The strikes on Friday follow an attack on the northern city of Chernihiv on Wednesday in which 18 people were killed and 78 wounded.

Billions of dollars in long-stalled US military aid to Ukraine is finally on track to pass Congress, with votes expected on Saturday in the Republican-led House of Representatives.

The U.S. assistance, held up by partisan bickering, could be approved at a time some of Ukraine’s staunchest allies fear Kyiv may not be able to defend itself much longer against empowered and better-armed Russian forces.

“There is a very real risk that the Ukrainians could lose on the battlefield by the end of 2024 or at least put Putin in a position where he could essentially dictate the terms of a political settlement,” U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns said in at a military forum this week.

—With assistance from Kateryna Chursina and Natalia Drozdiak.