INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ukraine said Friday that, for the first time since Russia's invasion, it had downed a Russian long-range bomber used to fire cruise
missiles at cities across the war-battered country."For the first time, anti-aircraft missile units of the air force in cooperation with the
defense intelligence of Ukraine destroyed a Tu-22M3 long-range strategic bomber," Ukraine's military said in a statement on social
southern Stavropol region when it was flying back to base and at least one member of the crew had died.Two other pilots were taken to the
circulating on social media shows the bomber spinning as it descends to the ground with a fire near its tail.Ukraine said that the Tu-22M3
had launched deadly strikes on the cities of Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih overnight."This was the plane that bombed Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih
We took our revenge for our cities and civilians," air force spokesperson Illya Yevlash told AFP.Stavropol is a region in Russia's north
Caucasus, to the east of the annexed Crimean peninsula which has seen multiple attacks throughout the two-year war.The plane crashed in the
Russian bomber used to fire cruise missiles at Ukraine would be a highly symbolic win for Kyiv, which has been pounded by hundreds of
overnight Russian aerial strikes since Moscow invaded more than two years ago.AFP contributed reporting.
