Russia’s long-range aviation is supported, at the moment of the war in Ukraine, by the Tu-95MS and the supersonic bomber Tu-160. The first, with nuclear capabilities, is one of the best values ​​among the Russian forces. However, during the attacks of the last days, three newly built missiles from a unit of these models aimed at Ukrainian territory finally ended up sinking into the Caspian Sea after a malfunction, according to La Razón.
The Tupolev Tu-95MS bomber is based on a redesign developed in the late 1970s that began serial production in 1981. This is one of the most nuclear-deployed aircraft with a maximum weight of 188 tons. In addition, it has two 23 mm machine guns arranged in a tail turret.
The Russians have regularly fired cruise missiles at Ukraine from the Caspian Sea since the invasion of Ukraine, according to the same outlet, citing the Crimean Wind Telegram channel. This time, however, they missed and fell into their own territory. Perhaps because of the Western sanctions, which force the weapons manufacturers to use inferior and lower-quality components.
“Why are they allowed to launch from the Caspian Sea? Because a rocket fired from a warplane does not always take off and fly toward its target. It just falls. It is easier when it falls in the Caspian Sea than somewhere in Russia, on top of the Russians. Falling into the sea means that the Russians can hide the mistake, “said Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian air force. He also stated that the unreliability of the missiles means that Russia is firing its missiles into the Caspian Sea.
“Everything is ready” for the counteroffensive
Meanwhile, Ukraine has already announced on Monday that “everything is ready” for the start of its new and long-lasting counter-offensive. The campaign against Russia to recover a good part of the occupied territory is being prepared and will begin “soon”, explained the voice of the military and that of the Ukrainian president himself, Volodymyr Zelenski.
It is time, they say, to recover the initiative after the latest wave of indiscriminate Russian bombing of the country’s geography. And they did it with satisfactory experience last summer.
The Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov himself assured that it now only depends on the General Staff when and where to start it up. “I think that from today we can enter the final stretch and say: yes, everything is ready,” he said in a message to the nation.
For his part, Andrei Marochko, representative of the Russian authorities installed in the People’s Republic of Lugansk, annexed last September, set a date: May 9.
Meanwhile, the head of the Wagner Group acknowledged that the upcoming counter-offensive of Ukraine could represent a “tragedy” for Russia, in an interview with pro-Kremlin war correspondent Semen Pegov on the WarGonzo channel.
