Russia is deploying strategic bombers given to Moscow by Kyiv 25 years ago, according to a new investigation.
The U.S.-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) project reported on Tuesday that serial numbers of six Tu-160 heavy strategic bombers transferred from Ukraine to Russia a quarter of a century ago matched numbers of long-range aircraft being used by Moscow's military.
Three Tu-95MS aircraft—also strategic bombers—were sent from Ukraine to Russia under the deal inked in 1999, and have since been used by Russia's long-range aviation pilots, according to the report. Newsweek could not independently verify this, and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
The Tu-160 is also known by its NATO moniker Blackjack. The aircraft is part of Russia's heavy bomber fleet, able to carry nuclear weapons.
Kyiv dismantled tens of strategic bombers under nuclear arms limitation conditions, and transferred several of the remaining Tu-160 and Tu-95 aircraft and missiles to Russia in 1999 under an agreement to partly settle a natural gas debt to Moscow.
In August 2023, RFE/RL reported that K-55 air-launched cruise missiles also handed over in the deal just before the turn of the century had been used to strike Ukraine during the full-scale war from February 2022.
Russia's long-range aviation bomber fleet "received a considerable boost" from these transfers, including the nearly 600 Kh-55 missiles, the U.S. nonprofit, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, has said. The 11 bombers sent to Russia were integrated into Russia's heavy bomber forces and put into service in late 2000 after maintenance works, the NTI added.
Nuclear weapons and cruise missiles had been stationed at silos and bases in Ukraine during the Cold War. When the Soviet Union crumbled, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in the mid-1990s in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the U.S. and the U.K.
RFE/RL's investigative branch said at least six of the Ukrainian-transferred Tu-160 heavy bombers remain operational with Russia's military. Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency provided the serial numbers of bombers in service in Russia, which were compared to aviation records and registries, according to the report.
Earlier this month, Ukraine's air force said Russia launched a "massive" combined attack on Ukraine, firing more than 200 missiles and drones at the war-torn country.
These missiles included Russia's Zircon hypersonic missile, a number of Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missiles, and more than 100 of the Kh-101 cruise missiles. Seven Russian Tu-160 and 16 Tu-95MS aircraft were involved in the attack, Kyiv's air force said in a statement.
An open-source intelligence account reported earlier this month that Moscow had increased the number of Tu-160 bombers at two air bases in Western Russia. The report was then shared by Ukrainian media.
The account named the two air bases as the Olenya facility in Murmansk, northwestern Russia, and the Engels-2 air base in the Saratov region. Ukraine has previously targeted both air bases with long-range drones.
The Ukrainians have consistently aimed at Russia's air bases on Russian soil, even ahead of the U.S. green-lighting the use of American-made long-range weapons deep into Russian territory earlier this month.
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