Ukraine may attack Russian Tu-22M3 bombers

Converted aircraft helps Ukraine launch record-breaking long-range strike on Russian soil

"I commend the members of the 9th Directorate of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Defense (GUR) for conducting a precision strike at a distance of 1,800 km from the Ukrainian border. It was a very effective strike, I am proud of you," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram on July 29.

The statement was made by Mr. Zelensky after Ukrainian state media quoted a source from GUR saying that this force had conducted a drone strike that hit a Tu-22M3 long-range supersonic bomber at Olenya military airport.

The Olenya air base is located near the town of Olenegorsk in the Murmansk region of northeastern Russia, about 1,800 km from the Ukrainian border. GUR officials said this was the furthest Ukrainian military strike into Russian territory since the beginning of the conflict.

The previous record was set in May, when the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) used a suicide UAV converted from a domestic Aeroprakt A-22 sports plane to attack a Russian oil refinery in the city of Salavat, more than 1,200 km from the front line in Ukraine.

President Zelensky did not mention Russian losses after the attack. Ukrainian media sources said the attack damaged the Tu-22M3. Russia has not commented on this information.

The attack on Olenya airport is believed to be part of a large-scale offensive into Russian territory, in which Ukrainian forces also deployed suicide UAVs to target two other enemy air bases and an oil refinery.

It is unclear what type of UAV Ukrainian intelligence used in the attack. The converted Aeroprakt A-22 is believed to be Ukraine’s longest-range suicide UAV, but the country’s military also possesses dozens of other types of UAVs.

Olenya Airport is one of the important bases for Tu-22M3 bombers. Satellite images released in May showed that there were at least 13 Tu-22M3s, 12 Tu-95MS aircraft, one Tu-160 aircraft and two An-12 military transport aircraft at the base.

The airport is also located just 150 km from the Finnish border. News of the Ukrainian attack on Olennya has raised some concerns in Finland about the risk of the conflict spilling over into the country.

However, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said in an interview with YLE that people should not be too worried about such incidents. "We need to get used to the fact that a war is taking place near the Finnish border, as well as the fact that Ukraine will use all means at its disposal to win," Mr. Stubb said.

Russia regularly deploys Tu-22M3, Tu-95MS and Tu-160 aircraft to attack targets in Ukraine with cruise missiles. Russian bombers often fire from hundreds of kilometers away from their targets, beyond the effective interception range of most Ukrainian air defense systems.

Missiles were launched in large numbers to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses. Therefore, Kiev’s most viable solution to counter the long-range raid tactics of Russian bombers was to attack while the aircraft were still on the ground.

Ukraine twice attacked Tu-22M3 bombers while they were at the base in 2022 and 2023, reportedly destroying one plane and damaging another.