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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.
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.
Russian channels publish photos of an allegedly burning Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber, reportedly destroyed yesterday by a drone at a military airfield in Soltsy, Novgorod region, Russia.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 20, 2023
Eyewitnesses reported two aircraft were allegedly struck. One suffered less damage, and the… pic.twitter.com/OA19pTaGJ3
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.
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."
About the writer
Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more