"Ukraine has weapons to shoot down Russian aircraft": Air Force comments on Tu-22M3 downing

He said this on the Espreso TV channel.

"Indeed, a historic event took place today when we destroyed Russia's Tu-22M3 strategic bomber for the first time. This is the first but not the last aircraft, we are waiting for Tu-95 in the future. We have the capabilities to shoot down aircraft at long range. We have already demonstrated our capability when we also shot down an A-50 over the Black Sea. Of course, we have the means to do so. Today we confirmed this when we shot down this powerful aircraft," Yevlash said.

The Ukrainian Air Force spokesman explained how the Ukrainian military managed to destroy the Tu-22M3.

"This aircraft was firing missiles from the Black Sea towards Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih. After it had fired back and was on its return course, one of our air defence missiles was fired after it, catching up with the bomber. It was able to stay in the air for a while, and then, due to significant damage, the aircraft crashed to the ground. There could have been four people on board, the crew of a Tu-22. We will find out how many of them were on board and how many died from open sources, as the plane crashed in Russia," said Yevlash.

In order to have more such operations, Ukraine needs support in providing weapons and air defence, he said.

"This is great news for our foreign partners. They can see that Ukrainians are extremely talented and smart. But in order to have more such operations, we need support, including weapons and air defence systems. We need to protect our cities and strategic infrastructure to focus more on repelling attacks in the air and on land," added Yevlash.

• On the morning of April 19, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down a Tu-22M3 aircraft in Russia that was launching Kh-22/Kh-32 missiles at Ukraine.