Ukraine has destroyed two irreplaceable Russian bombers with long-range drone strikes.
Satellite images show that at least two Tu-95 ‘Bear’ nuclear-capable bombers were targeted at a Russian airbase in July and August, putting both Soviet-era aircraft out of action, The Telegraph reported.
For decades, Russia considered the Tu-95s—a key part of the country’s nuclear triad—safe at the Engels-2 airbase because it is so deep inside Russian territory.
However, Ukraine has drastically increased its long-range drone capabilities and has been hitting strategic targets across the country, including oil refineries that are vital to funding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion efforts.
The destruction of the strategic bombers is of particular significance to Kyiv. The Tu-95 is one of only two aircraft Russia has that can launch long-range Kh-101 cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities.
They have a range of 9,300 miles and carry a missile payload of 33,000lbs.
Due to their Cold War-era design, Russia cannot replace the aircraft once they are gone, and Moscow has not built a new Tu-95 unit since 1992.
“They’re part of Russia’s nuclear triad,” Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow for airpower and technology at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told The Telegraph.
“They’ve been used to conduct intensive missile raids against Ukraine for four-and-a-half years. Destroying one, especially at its home base, is a politically poignant thing to do.”
Robert Tollast, a researcher on the land warfare team at RUSI, said the Tu-95s are “obviously really important for Russia’s deep-strike campaign,” which the country usually prioritizes in winter by targeting Ukrainian power infrastructure.
“So the fewer Tu-95s Russia has, the fewer of these missiles can be fired with the devastating warheads and the long range,” Tollast added.
Ukraine’s long-range drone bombardment deep inside Russia could even be more successful than the satellite images suggest.
Oryx, an open-source intelligence research group, has recorded that at least 10 Tu-95s have been targeted since the invasion began in February 2022, not counting the two strikes at Engels-2 this summer.
Ukraine’s waves of drone attacks have also forced Putin into an embarrassing corner where he must redeploy Russia’s already stretched air defenses across a much wider area to counter the deeper strikes, potentially leaving other parts of the country even more exposed.
“There’s just less dense air defense cover that the Russians can put at any one site than they used to,” Bronk told The Telegraph. “Even something as important as Engels.”
