• Ukraine said it struck a Tu-22M3 bomber about 1,100 miles from its border.

• It would be Ukraine's deepest strike on Russian territory since the war began.

• The Tu-22M3 is a long-range supersonic bomber designed to take out sea- and ground-based targets.

Ukraine said it hit a Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber a record-breaking 1,100 miles from its borders, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Saturday, citing sources in the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

The sources said Ukraine used reconnaissance drones to strike Olenya airfield in Murmansk in northwestern Russia, adding that the airfield was "the base of the strategic aircraft of the Russian occupiers."

If confirmed, it would mark the deepest attack on Russian territory that Ukraine has carried out since the start of the war, while also raising major questions about Russia's air defenses.

It would beat the previous record of just more than 800 miles, which was set in May when Ukraine hit an oil refinery in Salavat, in Russia's republic of Bashkortostan.

Satellite imagery of Olenya airfield, reviewed by Business Insider, shows many bombers at the site.

David Axe, a defense blogger, reported that the Olenya airbase regularly housed about 63 Tu-22M3s, 55 Tu-95s, and 17 Tu-160s.

 

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Bloomberg also reported the attack, citing a person familiar with the operation.

Russia's defense ministry hasn't commented on the reports.

Ukraine has ramped up its attacks on Russian airfields in recent months.

Mick Ryan, a retired Australian army general, wrote on Substack earlier this year that such attacks could "force a Russian reassessment of their air defense resources as well as having to redeploy these assets further from where they are most needed."

But the attack on Olenya, if confirmed, would suggest Russian aircraft are vulnerable even deep inside Russian territory.

Tu-22M3

The Tu-22M3 is a "long-range supersonic missile carrier bomber" designed to take out sea- and ground-based targets using guided missiles and aerial bombs, according to its manufacturer, Tupolev.

The head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, previously told BBC Ukraine that the Soviet-era aircraft carried Kh-22 missiles, adding that the munitions "have perhaps brought the most destruction" to Odesa in southern Ukraine.

Ukraine said it took out its first Tu-22M3 of the war back in April at an airbase in southern Russia around 200 miles from Ukraine.

A video shared on X appeared to show the bomber falling through the sky.

Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, said earlier this month it had foiled a Ukrainian plot to hijack a Tu-22M3 and fly it to Ukraine.

"Ukrainian intelligence intended to recruit a Russian military pilot for a monetary reward and the provision of Italian citizenship, to persuade him to fly and land a missile carrier in Ukraine," the FSB said on its website, according to Reuters.

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