The Russian pilot who was allegedly targeted by Ukrainian intelligence to help move the Tu-22M3 strategic bomber abroad shared his account of the events. The report comes from the television channel Russia 1.
The pilot described being pressured to remove three crew members and stated that any such action would be enforced by force.
He indicated that the covert operation to recruit him began in October 2023, characterizing it as a rushed effort to hijack the bomber, with little attention paid to the technical realities and risks involved in carrying out such a mission.
Earlier, military analyst Vlad Shlepchenko commented on Kyiv’s alleged attempt to relocate the Russian Tu-22M3 onto Ukrainian soil. He stressed that, for Russia as for any nation, it is vital to deny adversaries the ability to sabotage air power, since such sabotage would undermine national defense capabilities.
Previously, the FSB stated that the operation to prevent the bomber hijack contributed to disrupting Ukrainian airspace and limiting its use by the Armed Forces.