DIU provided details of the downing of Russian Tu-22M3: "This is not a regular operation"

DIU provided details of the downing of Russian Tu-22M3: "This is not a regular operation"

For the first time, the Ukrainian Defence Forces destroyed the Russian strategic bomber Tu-22M3. For the occupiers, this was not only a shock, but also a serious loss.

This is how Andriy Yusov, spokesman for the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, commented on the incident to OBOZ.UA. According to him, the downing of the Russian bomber 300 km from the border was not a regular job for Ukrainian defenders.

"It was a separate operation. But we see that such operations are increasing. There have already been several cases of successful destruction of A-50 strategic reconnaissance aircraft. Previously, Tu-22s were also damaged, but it happened when they were on the ground due to sabotage and other strikes on the territory of the base. And now this is an aircraft that was destroyed while performing a combat mission," Yusov said.

According to the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, Ukrainian missiles were used for the operation, which were "made from scratch from old components". Yusov added that "this is not a new type of weapon, nothing extraordinary was used here".

"It was, of course, a complete surprise for the enemy that it was possible to hit them deep in their territory. We are talking about a distance of 300 kilometres from the Ukrainian-Russian border. This means that the safe zone for Russian aircraft has become even smaller," Yusov said.

The DIU spokesman believes that Russian pilots will now have a different attitude to the orders they are given. In general, the enemy will be forced to reconsider the tactics of using strategic aviation.

"After the loss of the A-50U strategic reconnaissance aircraft and today’s downing of the Tu-22M3, we can generally predict that for some time there may be fewer missile strikes, at least from air, particularly in Odesa region. This will have a positive impact on the dynamics of shelling, and in general, the enemy will be forced to adjust its tactics," the intelligence officer assured.