A Russian Tu-22M3 bomber crashed in Irkutsk Oblast of Siberia due to a malfunction, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Aug. 15.
The crew managed to eject. No damages or casualties were reported, as the plane fell in a deserted area, according to the ministry.
Irkutsk Oblast Governor Igor Kobzev claimed that the plane went down during a routine flight near the village of Mikhaylovka, around 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of the city of Irkutsk.
All four crew members have been found and are being provided with medical care, the governor said.
The Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the crash in Irkutsk Oblast, over 5,000 kilometers (3,106 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Russian forces regularly use Tu-22M3 long-range strategic and maritime strike bombers, commonly armed with AS-4 heavy anti-ship or Kh-22 cruise missiles, in airstrikes against Ukraine. Some of these planes carried out the heavy bombardment of Mariupol in 2022 using unguided bombs.
In April, Ukrainian anti-aircraft units shot down a Russian Tu-22M3 bomber for the first time. The Tu-22M3 bomber crashed in Russia's Stavropol Krai on the morning of April 19, just after Russia launched an attack on Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed the aircraft crashed due to a "malfunction" while returning to its base airfield after completing a combat mission, according to Russian state-controlled media.
In August 2023, Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said Russia fielded 27 operable Tu-22M3 strategic bombers.
Andreas Umland
