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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber shot down
2024-04-19
[Telegram] Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber that took part in strikes against Ukraine crashed (or shot down) in Stavropol.

Ukraine claims it was shot down.

Russia says it crashed.

Either way, this is a first since the beginning of invasion of Ukraine.
Posted by:DarthVader

#13  The Ukraine folk on X were saying.... a Modified S-200 rocket steered by a radar on a blimp that at it's height had full line of site coverage to 50 miles away from the crash site. They said the missile hit the plane and it limped on for another 1/2 hour before it crashes.. It is "x" or "twitter" so factor that in.
Posted by: 3dc   2024-04-19 18:16  

#12  Further shots here:
https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1781176954000949699
Posted by: ed in texas   2024-04-19 11:26  

#11  #10 We'll see how soon the Russian media goes silent on the story. If all quiet by next week, it was a cockup by the RU military.

Kind of like Crocus City Hall went 'dark' fairly quickly in the RU media, other than photos of flowers and people crying.



Russian media in no way went dark with stories about Crocus, and they have stuck to their narrative that the shooters were in the pay of Ukrainian special services.
Posted by: badanov   2024-04-19 11:14  

#10  We'll see how soon the Russian media goes silent on the story. If all quiet by next week, it was a cockup by the RU military.

Kind of like Crocus City Hall went 'dark' fairly quickly in the RU media, other than photos of flowers and people crying.
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2024-04-19 11:07  

#9  #7 The fall matches other shot down aircraft we have seen. But also a catastrophic engine failure and stall can do the same thing.

That far from the border I suspect the Russians once again shot down their own aircraft.


Much more likely.
Posted by: badanov   2024-04-19 10:31  

#8  I suspect Ukraine has a large, active guerilla force inside Russia.
Posted by: Beldar+Uneter3543   2024-04-19 09:56  

#7  The fall matches other shot down aircraft we have seen. But also a catastrophic engine failure and stall can do the same thing.

That far from the border I suspect the Russians once again shot down their own aircraft.
Posted by: DarthVader   2024-04-19 09:52  

#6  Figuring out what the hell is going on based on limited information and deliberate lying is always a challenge. A couple data points:

one of Putin's Tu-22M3 strategic bombers
A tell that I have noticed when the Daily Mail/GCHQ is trying to sell a story is "Putin's whatever". It's not a Russian bomber or a Russian Aerospace Forces plane, it's one of Putin's own personal strategic bombers.

The crash site is some 250 miles from the closest border with Ukraine.
Seems a bit far from the border for a Ukrainian shootdown, but then again, it is a supersonic plane.

For the moment, color me skeptical of both stories.
Answer hazy. Ask again later
Posted by: SteveS   2024-04-19 09:36  

#5  ^Really bad cabbage fart.
Posted by: ed in texas   2024-04-19 08:55  

#4  'Dropped Cigarette'?
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2024-04-19 08:22  

#3  ^ That explains the flaming fuselage and cartwheeling into the ground...I guess
Posted by: Frank G   2024-04-19 07:16  

#2  Russians said it was a technical malfunction which caused the crash, not a missile.
Posted by: badanov   2024-04-19 07:10  

#1  Moment one of Putin's $280million nuclear bombers tailspins to the ground while on fire over Russia after being blasted by Ukrainian missile
Posted by: Skidmark   2024-04-19 06:55  

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