Ukraine says it shot down a Russian strategic bomber
The Ukrainian army announced in a statement posted on social media on Friday that it had managed to shoot down a Russian long-range strategic bomber that was used to launch cruise missiles at various cities in the country.
The statement indicates that this development is the first of its kind since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Mykola Oleschuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Forces, explained that the Ukrainian air defenses were able to shoot down the Russian Tupolev strategic bomber (Tu-22M3) carrying Kh-22 cruise missiles.
This work was carried out in cooperation between anti-aircraft missile units and Ukrainian military intelligence.
According to the sources, the Russian bomber was shot down during a Russian attack that occurred last night, and two C200 missiles were used to carry out the operation.
Experts point out that this incident represents a major shift in the performance of Ukrainian air defense systems.
For its part, the Ukrainian authorities announced the interception of 15 missiles and 14 attack drones launched by Russia at various regions in Ukraine last night.
In a related context, the authorities in the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine announced that at least 8 people were killed and 25 others were injured as a result of the Russian bombing that targeted the region Thursday night.
