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MOSCOW, June 5 (Reuters) – Russian fighter jets have been damaged but will not be destroyed by the attack on June 1 by Ukraine and will recover, Russian vice minister Sergei Riabov said.
Ukrainian drones have raided airfields in Siberia and the far north, where Russia houses heavy bombers that form part of its strategic nuclear forces.
The US estimates that up to 20 fighters have been attacked and about 10 have been destroyed, two U.S. officials told Reuters.
However, Liabakov, who oversees arms control diplomacy, told Tas, the state communications agency:
Given the complexity of technology, some Soviet-era planes, and Western sanctions restricting the importation of Russian sensitive components, it was not immediately clear how quickly Russia could repair or replace damaged aircraft.
Commercial satellite images taken after the Ukrainian drone attack show that experts said Reuters appears to be causing damage to Russian TU-95 strategic bombers and TU-22’s backfire long-range bombers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told President Donald Trump in a telephone conversation Wednesday that Moscow must respond to the attack, Trump said.
Russia has an estimated fleet of 67 strategic bombers, including 52 TU-95s, known as Bear-H, and 15 TU-160s, known as Blackjacks, of which 58 are believed to be deployed.
Additionally, according to the bulletin, there are 289 non-strategic fighter jets and bombers, including the TU-22, SU-24S, SU-34S and MIG-31. Russia has not explained in detail which aircraft was damaged, but said Ukraine has targeted five airbases.
The TU-95 and TU-22 are Soviet-era planes that can be operated for decades. The state’s industrial conglomerate Rostec said in 2024 that a modern upgraded version of the TU-95 was in use and there were no plans to retire from the plane.
The latest model, the TU-95MSM, has been developed and will begin its first test flight in 2020. Rostec said the TU-95MSM is a serious upgrade that increases the efficiency of the aircraft and its service life.
United Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of Rostec, which manufactures planes, said the TU-22M3 has been in serial production since 1978 and served in military service in 1989.
Rostec did not immediately respond to requests for comment on what a particular challenge would be in terms of aircraft parts.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Gleb Stolyarov, Alex Marrow, Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
