Air Force commander says Russian Tu-22M3 bomber destroyed by Ukrainian forces
Ukrainian Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk announced this on Telegram.
According to him, overnight into Friday, April 19, Russian invaders launched a combined attack on Ukraine using missiles of different types and attack UAVs.
In total, the enemy used 22 missiles and 14 strike drones, including:
- 2 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles launched from Tu-95 MS strategic bombers (Ryazan area, Russia),
- 14 Shahed-131/136 drones (Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Kursk region),
- 12 Kh-59/Kh-69 guided aerial missiles (Kursk region, Sea of Azov area),
- 2 Iskander-K cruise missiles (Crimea), and
- 6 Kh-22 cruise missiles fired from Tu-22M3 long-range strategic bombers (the Black and Azov Seas).
Anti-aircraft missile units of the Ukrainian Air Force, mobile fire groups and electronic warfare units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces were involved in repelling the aerial attack.
Ukrainian defenders intercepted 29 targets, including:
- 2 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles,
- 14 Shahed-131/136 attack drones,
- 11 Kh-59/Kh-69 guided aerial missiles, and
- 2 Kh-22 cruise missiles.
According to Oleshchuk, the anti-aircraft missile units of the Ukrainian Air Force, in cooperation with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, destroyed for the first time a Tu-22M3 long-range strategic bomber, a carrier of Kh-22 cruise missiles, which the Russians use to attack Ukrainian cities. During today's attack, two Kh-22 missiles were destroyed for the first time.
"Ukraine needs more means and more missiles to better protect the frontline areas from Russian terrorism," the commander said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that air defense systems should not be stored in warehouses, but deployed in cities that are hit by Russian terrorists.
Photo: Vladimir Vladimirov / Telegram
