Russian warplanes were damaged but not ruined in a June 1 attack by Ukraine, and they will be brought back, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.Ukrainian drones struck airfields in Siberia and the far north, where Russia homes heavy bombers that form part of its tactical nuclear forces.The United States evaluates that approximately 20 warplanes were hit and around 10 were destroyed, 2 U.S.
officials informed Reuters, a figure that is about half the number approximated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.But Ryabkov, who supervises arms control diplomacy, told the state-run TASS news company that, The equipment in concern, as was also specified by agents of the Ministry of Defense, was not damaged however harmed.
It will be restored.It was not right away clear how promptly Russia could repair or replace the harmed aircraft if at all provided the complexity of the technology, the age of some of the Soviet-era aircrafts, and Western sanctions that restrict Russian imports of sensitive components.Commercial satellite imagery taken after the Ukrainian drone attack reveals what professionals informed Reuters seem harmed Russian Tu-95 tactical bombers and Tu-22 Backfire long-range bombers that Russia has actually used to release rocket strikes against Ukraine.Russian President Vladimir Putin informed U.S.
President Donald Trump in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that Moscow would need to react to the attacks, Trump said.Russia has actually an estimated fleet of 67 tactical bombers, including 52 Tu-95s, known as Bear-H by NATO, and 15 Tu-160s, referred to as Blackjacks, of which about 58 are thought to be released, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.In addition, it has 289 non-strategic fighters and bombers, including Tu-22s, Su-24s, Su-34s and MiG-31s, according to the Bulletin.
Russia has provided no information about which aircraft were damaged however stated that Ukraine targeted five airbases.The Tu-95 and Tu-22 are Soviet-era aircrafts, functional for many decades.
State commercial corporation Rostec stated in 2024 that modern, updated versions of the Tu-95 are in service and there are no plans to retire the plane.The most current model, a Tu-95MSM, is presently being established and first embarked on a test flight in 2020.
Rostec said the Tu-95MSM was a serious upgrade that would increase the aircrafts effectiveness and its service life.United Aircraft Corporation, a Rostec subsidiary that makes the aircrafts, stated the Tu-22M3 remained in serial production from 1978 and took into military service in 1989.
Rostec did not instantly react to a Reuters request for comment on what the specific difficulties would remain in regards to parts for the aircraft.