Russian Tu-22M3 Bomber Crashes in Siberia, Crew Survives

A Russian Tu-22M3 bomber crashed Monday in Siberia’s Irkutsk region during a training flight, but its four crew members ejected and survived, Russia’s Defense Ministry and regional officials said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the aircraft crashed while approaching for landing during a planned training flight, Interfax reported.

“The crew ejected. There is no threat to the pilots’ lives or health,” the ministry said, according to Interfax. The ministry said there was no ground damage and the aircraft was flying without a combat load.

The crew ejected. There is no threat to the pilots’ lives or health. — Russia’s Defense Ministry

Irkutsk Gov. Igor Kobzev said the Tu-22M3 went down in the Bokhansky district near the village of Kamenka. He said local residents found the crew members alive and medical workers were assisting them.

Kobzev said there were no deaths or damage on the ground. Operational services went to the crash site, Interfax reported.

Reuters reported that Kobzev said the four crew members were taken to a hospital and that firefighters were working to extinguish a blaze.

Xinhua, citing TASS and the Russian Defense Ministry, reported that the aircraft was flying without an ammunition load.

Russian officials did not announce a confirmed cause for Monday’s crash. A commission from the main command of Russia’s Aerospace Forces was working at the scene, Interfax reported.

The crash is at least the third reported Tu-22M3 crash in the Irkutsk region since August 2024. Reuters reported that a Tu-22M3 crashed in the region on Aug. 15, 2024, killing one crew member, and that another crashed there April 2, 2025, also killing one crew member.

Reuters reported in 2024 that Russia’s air force had 57 Tu-22M3s, citing the 2024 Military Balance report by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Interfax described the Tu-22M3 as a long-range supersonic missile-carrying bomber, known by NATO as the Backfire. Interfax said Tu-22M3 aircraft are part of Russia’s long-range aviation and can carry conventional missile and bomb weapons, including cruise missiles.