Russian bombers over Ukraine: Fallout from a 1999 arms deal
The Russian army is using strategic Tu-160 bombers that Kyiv transferred to Moscow. The aircraft was handed over to Russia as part of an agreement between the governments of both countries in 1999 in exchange for debt repayment for Russian gas, reports Radio Svoboda. Six aircraft, which arrived in Russia 25 years ago, are being utilized. They are now used to bomb targets in Ukraine.
Twenty-five years ago, Ukraine handed over missiles and strategic bombers to Russia – in exchange for which Moscow cancelled part of the gas debt.
Transferred to Russia and integrated into service
The first part of the investigative series "Schemes" found evidence that the Russian army was shelling Ukrainian cities with X-55 cruise missiles handed over in 1999.
Journalists describe that the strategic bombers, which Ukraine's authorities also handed to Russia a quarter of a century ago, are currently in active combat service with the Russian army.
Journalists established this through analysis of aircraft serial numbers found in the archived agreement from that time, data from international aviation registers, and comparison with bomber numbers that – according to Ukrainian intelligence – are currently used by the Russian army.
Massive Russian attacks involving bombers
On July 8, 2024, at 5:00 a.m. ET, Russia conducted a massive missile barrage on Kyiv.
One of the missiles hit Ukraine's largest children's hospital, "Ohmatdyt". At that time, hundreds of children and their parents were inside.
The Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice, and analysts concluded that it was a deliberate attack with an X-101 cruise missile. The carrier of these missiles was a strategic bomber.
After the attack on "Ohmatdyt", a Russian pilot contacted the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence, providing data to identify the commanders and pilots of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Division. The GUR recognizes this division as "responsible for numerous casualties and destruction in Ukraine" caused by missile attacks.
The bomber pilots were also identified. One of them is Alexey Pechkarev. Previously identified as the commander of the Tu-95MS "Izborsk" aircraft, he was the head of the combat preparation section of the 22nd bomber division during the full-scale invasion. In the summer of 2022, at one of the rallies supporting the so-called special military operation, he stated that Russian "soldiers on the ground and in the air are destroying the resurrected Nazism".
The "Izborsk", commanded by Pechkarev, is a former Ukrainian aircraft, previously with tail number "8". After being transferred to Russia in 1999, it was renamed.
The value of the transferred weapons reaches billions
Pechkarev's name, based on Ukrainian intelligence data, also appeared in the media after the missile attack on the "Tiras" residential complex in Odesa in 2022. At that time, eight residents of the complex died, including a pregnant woman and a three-month-old child.
- Firstly, Ukraine was handing over the mentioned weapons (just as previously its own nuclear arsenal) not to an enemy, that is not to the current imperialistic Russia, but to a country which even the West considered a fully responsible strategic player and its reliable partner. Secondly, there was nothing unique or exclusive in the transferred weaponry - believes former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma.
One of the aircraft identified by "Schemes" in Russia is the Ukrainian bomber, which prior to transfer had tail number "10". In Russia, it received the name "Nikolai Kuznetsov".
Another pilot of this aircraft, identified by "Schemes", is Oleh Skytckyj. A Russian commander who most likely directed the bomber attack on Kyiv on April 28, 2022 – as "Schemes" reported earlier. On that day, due to the Russian missile, Radio Svoboda journalist Vira Hyrych died.
Ukraine handed over planes, missiles, and equipment worth approximately $369 million CAD in exchange for the cancellation of gas debts. Among the transferred items were 11 bombers and 575 X-55 cruise missiles, spare parts for bombers, or ground and electronic equipment.
According to the Supreme Council's Investigative Commission, the value of the transferred armament was undervalued – Ukraine suffered losses of around $3.3 billion CAD. Documents found in the archives indicated the possibility of selling three Tu-160s to an American company for $9.4 million CAD each. The planes were to be used for launching satellites into low orbits. The project, however, was not realized.
