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By Isabel van Brugen
News Reporter
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Ukraine has downed a Russian Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber for the first time in the war launched by Moscow, according to Kyiv's military intelligence.
The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine (HUR) issued a statement early on Friday saying that Kyiv's forces shot down the long-range bomber, causing it to crash in Russia's Stavropol Territory.
Ukraine's air force has previously said Russia has used the Tu-22M3 aircraft to fire Kh-22 cruise missiles at Ukrainian territory. The HUR said the bomber that was downed "carried out a missile attack against Ukraine on the night of April 19."
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The aircraft was shot down "as a result of a [HUR] special operation in cooperation with the Air Force," it said, adding that it was struck at a distance of about 300 kilometers from Ukraine.
The HUR added: "It should be noted that this is the first successful destruction of a strategic bomber in the air during a combat sortie during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine."
Prior to the HUR's statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said that a Tu-22M3 long-range bomber had crashed in a "deserted area" in Stavropol's Krasnogvardeysky district because of a "technical malfunction" and that a search is ongoing for one crew member.
"The pilots ejected. Three crew members were evacuated by the search and rescue team. Currently, the search for one pilot is underway," the ministry said, state-run news agency Interfax reported. "There were no weapons on board. The plane crashed in a deserted area. There was no destruction on the ground. According to preliminary data, the cause of the accident was a technical malfunction."
The defense ministry said the bomber crashed after completing a combat mission while returning to its home airfield.
The Baza Telegram channel, which is linked to Russia's security services, published a video on Friday which purportedly shows the moment the Tu-22M3 fell from the sky and crashed.
Newsweek couldn't independently verify when or where the footage was filmed. The Russian Defense Ministry has been contacted for comment via email.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, which posts estimates of Russia's troop and equipment losses, said in an update on Friday that Moscow lost has lost 347 aircraft so far in the ongoing war.
Kyiv also said Russia lost 870 soldiers over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 457,830 during the war.
Neither Ukraine nor Russia releases detailed or regular casualty numbers. Newsweek has not independently verified these figures and has reached out to Russia's Defense Ministry for comment.
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