REUTERS/Host Photo Agency/RIA Novosti/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 22 (Reuters) - British military intelligence said on Tuesday that a weekend drone attack on an airfield deep inside Russia which Moscow blamed on Ukraine is highly likely to have destroyed a TU-22M3 supersonic long-range bomber.
Kyiv, which on Monday claimed to have attacked another Russian military airfield, says Russia has used the TU-22M3 to bomb targets across Ukraine.
Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that a military airfield in the Novgorod region where such planes are stationed had been attacked by a Ukrainian drone and one plane had been damaged.
'SUCCESSFUL ATTACK'In one of its regular updates on Ukraine, British military intelligence said that "a Tu-22M3 BACKFIRE medium bomber of Russia's Long Range Aviation (LRA) was highly likely destroyed at Soltsy-2 Air base in Novgorod Oblast, 650 km (403 miles) away from Ukraine’s border".
Russia has often used supersonic TU-22M3 planes to bomb Ukraine, it added, criticising what it called the "notoriously inaccurate" heavy anti-ship missiles which the plane fires.
Persons:
Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones, Giles Elgood
Organizations:
Tupolev, REUTERS, Agency, RIA, Moscow, Russia's Defence, Aviation, Thomson
Locations:
Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Novgorod, Ukrainian, British, Soltsy, Novgorod Oblast, Ukraine’s