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Russian Tu-22M3 Supersonic Bomber Obliterated in Fiery Drone Strike: Photos
BY ELLIE COOK ON 8/21/23 AT 4:28 AM EDT
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New photographs have surfaced online appearing to show at least one
Russian Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber aircraft in flames after Moscow blamed
Kyiv for a drone attack deep in Russian territory.

Images widely circulating on social media—also shared by Anton
Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's internal ministry—show what looks
to be part of an aircraft in the center of a fireball, with smoke
billowing high into the air. What looks to be a runway of a military
base is visible in the foreground of the images.

The images purportedly show the damage wrought by a long-range strike on
the Russian airbase of Soltsy, which Russia accused Ukraine of carrying
out on Saturday. In a statement, Moscow's Defense Ministry said Ukraine
had used an quadcopter aerial drone to target a military airfield in
Novgorod around 10 a.m. Moscow time, saying that one plane was damaged.

Tu-22M Bomber
A Tu-22M strategic bomber shown ahead of Russian military forces'
Victory Day parade in May 2010. New photographs have surfaced online
appearing to show at least one Russian Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber
aircraft in flames after Moscow blamed Kyiv for a drone attack deep in
Russian territory.
WOJTEK LASKI/GETTY IMAGES

The drone was "hit by small arms," the Russian defense ministry said,
adding that a fire where aircraft were stationed was extinguished by
fire brigades. The airfield, in the Novgorod region between Moscow and
St. Petersburg, is several hundred miles from the border with Ukraine.

Ukraine's air force has previously said Moscow's air force has used
Tu-22M3 long-range bombers based in Soltsy to launch Kh-22 cruise
missiles at Ukrainian territory, and has increasingly used airborne and
waterborne drones to attack inside Russia's recognized borders.

Moscow's military has also looked to target Ukraine's airbases and
military airfields where Kyiv houses its strategic aircraft.

Images quickly sprung up online over the weekend showing smoke from the
Soltsy airbase, although Newsweek cannot independently verify when or
where the images published on social media were taken. The Russian
Defense Ministry has been contacted for comment via email.

Some reports indicated in the wake of the drone strike that Russia had
relocated several of its Tu-22M3 strategic supersonic bombers from
Novgorod to a base in the Arctic Kola Peninsula.

The attack on Soltsy put Russia's Defense Ministry under fire from the
influential Russian military blogger community, the Washington-based
Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Sunday.

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The "milbloggers" criticized the ministry for not keeping its aircraft
in hangars, or using "even elementary protective structures" and netting
to fend off quadcopter strikes, the ISW said.

Damaging or destroying two of Russia's Tu-22M3 strategic bombers "will
not generate militarily significant effects in itself," the think tank
said in its latest assessment, "but Russian milbloggers' responses to
the attack show the way in which such deep attacks support larger
Ukrainian efforts to degrade Russian morale."

On 8/21/23 11:33, a425couple wrote:
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> Russian Tu-22M3 Supersonic Bomber Obliterated in Fiery Drone Strike: Photos
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another version

https://www.eurasiantimes.com/after-tu-95-bomber-russias-tu-22-m3-backfire-destroyed-in/

After Tu-95 Bomber, Russia’s Tu-22 M3 Backfire Destroyed In Ukraine
Drone Attack – Reports
By Sakshi Tiwari -August 21, 2023
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After the December drone strike on Engels Air Base that damaged Russia’s
Tu-95 nuclear-capable bomber and shocked the Russian Air Force (RuAf),
the service may have lost a Tu-22 bomber to another alleged Ukrainian
drone strike.

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A drone attack targeted the Russian Tu-22M3 Backfire swing-wing bomber
based at Soltsy-2 on August 19. As soon as the news broke out, visuals
appeared on social media showing thick black smoke billowing from the
air base. However, it was initially unknown what asset at the base
caught fire.

Now, another set of visuals posted on social media indicates that a
Tu-22M3 strategic bomber was struck by the drone allegedly belonging to
the Ukrainian military. The pictures first surfaced on Telegram and have
subsequently spread to other social media sites.

The Russian MoD announced that a drone struck one unidentified aircraft
without directly naming the Tu-22M3 bomber. “At around 10:00 Moscow time
today, the Kyiv regime carried out a terrorist attack using a copter
type UAV against a military airfield in Novgorod region,” it noted on
Telegram.

Giving ambiguous details, the RuMoD said: “As a result of the terrorist
attack, a fire broke out in the airfield parking lot, which was promptly
extinguished by firefighting teams. One airplane was damaged; there were
no casualties due to the terrorist act.”

The air base is more than 660 kilometers from the borders of Ukraine,
indicating that a long-range drone was dispatched for the attack. Since
the Ukrainian counteroffensive was launched, Kyiv has exponentially
enhanced its long-range attacks on strategic Russian assets and civilian
and military installations.

The Soltsy-2 air base is home to the 840th Heavy Bomber Regiment, which
comprises the Tu-22M Backfire strategic bombers with a variable-sweep
wing developed during the Soviet era. As soon as the base came under
attack, the RuAF was reported to have moved the aircraft to a far-off base.

Alarmed by the damage to a bomber that has been raining down missiles on
Ukrainian cities and has proved instrumental to the RuAF, the service
reportedly moved them to Olenya Air Base south of Murmansk. This was
disclosed by a high-frequency radio observer who goes by the handle
@olga_pp98 on platform X.

According to this analyst and tracker, some six Tu-22M3 aircraft have
departed from Soltsy-2 for Olenya to the north of the Arctic Circle,
where Ukrainian UAVs and missiles cannot reach. The air base has
typically been used to launch attacks on Ukrainian cities without
exposing the bombers to the risk of being struck.

File:Tu-22M3 Ryazan2.JPG - Wikimedia Commons
Tu-22M3- Wikimedia Commons
Bombers have typically been deployed to carry stand-off missile strikes
on Ukraine from within Russian airspace. Besides the Tu-22M3, Russia has
used strategic bombers like the Tu-95 and Tu-160 to launch conventional
missiles at Ukrainian targets.

Although the Tu-22 are archaic Soviet-era bombers, they have been
extensively deployed to launch older supersonic Kh-22s and even more
recent Kh-32 variants, which are principally powerful anti-ship missiles
and are notorious for targeting Ukrainian civilian targets and causing
widespread destruction. This could likely explain why these bombers were
targeted.

Ukraine has mostly had a limited defense against these speedy missiles,
which the Ukrainian Air Force has admitted. With the arrival of the
Patriot defense batteries, the country’s air defense has been bolstered,
but they have been stationed in and around the capital Kyiv.

Tu-22M3 Is The Second Russian Bomber Damaged By Ukraine
Deep inside Russian territory, Engels-2 Air Force Base was attacked on
December 5 by Ukrainian drones. While the damage could not be
ascertained initially, published satellite imagery showed the Russian
Tu-95 bomber had taken a significant hit.

At least one Tu-95 strategic bomber of the Russian Aerospace Force
caught fire and sustained considerable damage, according to satellite
images of the Engels-2 Air Base in the Saratov region.

According to satellite images (below) obtained by EurAsian Times, a
Tu-95MS strategic bomber can be seen covered in firefighting foam, which
is used to cool the fire and coat the fuel to prevent it from coming
into contact with oxygen. You can read a detailed analysis of the
incident here.

TU-195
Destroyed Tu-95 Image
Since the Tu-95 nuclear bomber, the backbone of Russia’s bomber force,
had never been struck or destroyed in battle, its removal from active
service was considered a severe setback. The bomber wasn’t destroyed,
but it was sent to the repair hangars, and it was predicted that it
wouldn’t be ready for combat for at least a year.

Following three drone strikes in December which came in quick succession
and ended up damaging a Tu-95, the Ukrainian government sources alleged
that the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) Long-Range Aviation (LRA)
Tupolev Tu-95 “Bear” aircraft were moved from Engels-2 Air Base to
Ukrainian-Seryshevo Air Base.

While Engels-2 is 600 kilometers to the east of Ukrainian-controlled
territory, Ukrainka-Seryshevo is over 6,000 kilometers away from
Ukraine. Subsequently, some reports also suggested that some of these
bombers were moved to the Olenya Air Base south of Murmansk, where the
Tu-22M3 was relocated.

T-95 bombers and the Tu-160 are the mainstays of Russia’s strategic
bomber force. However, the Tu-22M3 is a significant asset given that
Ukrainian airspace is saturated and long-range cruise missiles fired
from the Russian airspace are Moscow’s best bet to keep the Ukrainian
military on edge.

The Ukrainian drone attacks on strategic Russian assets have also called
into question the ability of its air defense forces to defend the
country. On the other hand, the decision to target a Russian bomber has
been seen as a clear message to the RuAF that has only intensified its
missile attacks in recent times.