Military intelligence officers have revealed details of the operation to destroy the Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber, which was jointly carried out by specialists from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense and the Ukrainian Air Force on April 19, 2024.
In addition, the data of Russian war criminals from among the crew of the aircraft were established.
This is stated in a note from the Main Intelligence Directorate and in a documentary film by Artem Shevchenko, which was published by the intelligence agency.
Now watching
The downing of the Tu-22M3 in April: details of the operation from the GUR
We are talking about the Russian Tu-22M3 bomber destroyed 308 km from the front line, which crashed near the village of Bogomolov, which is in the Stavropol Territory of the Russian Federation.
According to the GUR, the aircraft had tail number 11 and belonged to the 52nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment (military unit 33310, Shaikovka airbase, which is in the Kaluga region of the Russian Federation). The specified air regiment is part of the 22nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of the Long-Range Aviation Command of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
Intelligence officers recall that on April 19, 2024, a Tu-22M3 bomber took off from the Mozdok airbase in the North Caucasus to the village of Kushchevskaya in the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation — the launch line of the Kh-22 missiles on the territory of Ukraine. But then it was the last flight for the Russian bomber.
— The plane was hit at a distance of 308 kilometers, quite far. Let's say that fruitful and long work makes itself felt… This is the first downing of a long-range aviation aircraft in this war, — the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence, Kirill Budanov, told the BBC in an interview at the time.
According to the head of intelligence, the same means were used to shoot down the Tu-22M3 as were used to shoot down the Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft.
Names of the pilots of the downed Tu-22M3
Subsequently, military intelligence established the names, as well as other detailed information about four war criminals who were part of the crew of the now destroyed Russian Tu-22M3 bomber.
It is noted that all four pilots were able to eject, and only two war criminals were able to survive:
- The ship's commander — Kolesnikov Sergei Anatolyevich, deputy squadron commander for military-political work, major, personal number E-199209, lives in Shaikovka, house 7, apt. 55, divorced, has a daughter.
- Navigator of the air squadron — Skryabichev Aleksandr Vladimirovich, captain, personal number E-179241, lives in Shaikovka, house 1, apt. 8, wife — Skryabiecheva Natalya, two sons.
- Assistant to the ship commander — Kononov Andrey Yuryevich, captain, personal number F-193346, lived in Shaikovka, house 1, apt. 41, wife — Kononova Svetlana, two daughters. Destroyed together with the aircraft TU-22M3 on April 19, 2024.
- Navigator-operator of the air squadron — Grushanin Andrey Aleksandrovich, senior lieutenant, personal number MT-498741, divorced, no children. Destroyed together with the TU-22M3 aircraft on April 19, 2024.
Recall that on July 27, an attack was carried out on the Olenya airfield, which is about 1.8 thousand km from the Ukrainian border. Then two Tu-22M3 aircraft were damaged.
As the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Budanov later explained, these strikes on the Olenya airfield, which is in the Murmansk region of the Russian Federation, delayed the next shelling of Ukraine.
