A Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber crashed during a training flight in Siberia on Monday, with all four crew members safely ejecting before the aircraft impacted the ground.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the accident occurred in the Irkutsk region and that the aircraft was not carrying a combat load at the time of the flight. Officials reported no casualties or damage on the ground.
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According to regional authorities, the bomber crashed near the village of Kamenka, about 120 km (75 miles) north of Irkutsk. Emergency crews and medical personnel were dispatched to the scene, where a fire broke out following the impact.
Videos circulating on social media appeared to show the aircraft descending steeply before crashing in a wooded area near the Angara River. The footage has not been independently verified.
Preliminary information released by Russian authorities points to an engine malfunction as a possible cause of the accident. Investigators are expected to examine the wreckage to determine the circumstances that led to the crash.
The accident follows another Tu-22M3 crash in the Irkutsk region in April 2025. In that incident, all four crew members ejected after the bomber reportedly suffered a technic
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al malfunction, although one pilot later died. Russian authorities also reported a similar Tu-22M3 accident in the region in August 2024.
The Tu-22M3 is a variable-sweep wing, long-range supersonic bomber developed during the Soviet era and known by NATO as the Backfire. Entering service in the 1980s, the aircraft remains one of the principal strike platforms of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
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The bomber is capable of carrying a variety of conventional and nuclear weapons, including the Kh-22 and Kh-32 long-range cruise missiles. Russia has also adapted some Tu-22M3 aircraft to employ the air-launched Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Tu-22M3 bombers have been used in long-range strike missions against targets across the country. The type has also previously participated in combat operations in Syria.
The accident is the latest involving a Russian military aircraft during the conflict period, as Moscow continues to maintain a high operational tempo across its strategic aviation fleet.
