Russia has deployed Tu-160 strategic bombers, which Ukraine handed over 25 years ago, according to "Schemes."

The Russian army is utilizing Ukrainian strategic bombers Tu-160. Kyiv transferred them to Moscow in 1999 in exchange for settling debts for consumed Russian gas.

This information was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing "Radio Svoboda."

Journalists analyzed the serial numbers of the aircraft from agreements of that time and data from international aviation registries. They compared these with the numbers of the bombers currently used by the Russian Federation.

It was revealed that at least six Tu-160 aircraft transferred by Ukraine are now part of the Russian army's combat fleet.

Additionally, the identities of the Russian pilots appointed to lead the Ukrainian bombers were established. These individuals may be involved in the massive missile strikes on Ukraine.

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In total, journalists from "Schemes" managed to identify ten Ukrainian strategic aircraft transferred from Ukraine to Russia:

• "Nikolai Kuznetsov" (previously this was the Ukrainian aircraft with tail number "10");
• "Vasiliy Senko" ("11");
• "Alexander Novikov" ("12");
• "Vladimir Sudets" ("15");
• "Alexey Plokhov" ("16");
• "Andrey Tupolev" ("18");
• "Igor Sikorsky" ("22").

It is noted that at least six of these aircraft are currently in the combat fleet of the Russian army.

The journalists also discovered three Tu-95MS: these are "Krasnoyarsk," "Sevastopol," and "Izborsk" – the new names these Ukrainian bombers received in Russia.

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Massive Strike on Ukraine

Recall that Russian occupiers launched over 200 targets at Ukraine from the night of November 16 to 17. It was reported that for the first time in a long while, Russia deployed Tu-160 bombers.