Ukrainian drone destroys Russian supersonic bomber
Published
Images posted online show a Tu-22M on fire at Soltsy-2 airbase
By Graeme Baker
BBC News
A flagship Russian long-range bomber has been destroyed in a Ukrainian drone strike, according to reports.
Images posted on social media and analysed by BBC Verify show a Tupolev Tu-22M on fire at Soltsy-2 airbase, south of St Petersburg.
Moscow said that a drone was hit by small-arms fire but managed to "damage" a plane. Ukraine has not commented.
The Tu-22M can travel at twice the speed of sound and has been used extensively to attack Ukraine.
The Russian defence ministry said in a statement that an attack by a "copter-type UAV" took place at around 10:00 Moscow time (07:00 GMT) on Saturday.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66573842