“The Russian army uses Tu-160 aircraft, which Ukraine gave to the occupiers 25 years ago due to gas debt — Schemes November 26, 20:05 Share: Tu-160 aircraft, which Ukraine gave to the Russian Federation 25 years ago (Photo: Radio Svoboda) The Russian army uses strategic bombers, which Ukraine handed over to the occupiers within the framework of the agreement between the governments of the countries in 1999 in exchange for repayment debts for consumed gas. This is stated in the investigation of the project”, — write on: ua.news
Tu-160 aircraft, which Ukraine gave to the Russian Federation 25 years ago (Photo: Radio Svoboda)
The Russian army uses strategic bombers, which Ukraine handed over to the occupiers as part of an agreement between the governments of the countries in 1999 in exchange for the repayment of debt for consumed gas.
This is stated in the investigation of the Scheme project, published on Tuesday, November 26.
According to the publication, currently at least six Tu-160 aircraft are in active service with the Russian army. The journalists analyzed the serial numbers of the aircraft in the agreement, data from international air registers, and also compared this information with the numbers of the bombers used by the Russian Federation.
The schemes managed to identify ten Ukrainian strategic aircraft transferred to Russia. In particular, we are talking about bombers with the following names: Mykola Kuznetsov (it used to be a Ukrainian plane with flight number 10), Vasyl Senko (11), Oleksandr Novikov (12), Volodymyr Sudets (15), Oleksiy Plokhov (16), Andriy Tupolev (18), Ihor Sikorskyi (22).
In addition, the investigators discovered three more Tu-95MS aircraft – Krasnoyarsk, Sevastopol, Izborsk – these are the new names of Ukrainian bombers in Russia.
In particular, the commander of the long-range aviation of the Russian Federation Serhiy Kobylash gave an interview near the plane, which in Ukraine had the flight number 10, and in the Russian Federation was named Mykola Kuznetsov. In 2024, the Ukrainian investigation informed the occupier that he was suspected of commanding an attack on the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv.
The journalists also identified Russian pilots who fly former Ukrainian bombers. Among them is Oleg Skytskyi, who piloted the plane, which in Ukraine had the flight number 11, and in the Russian Federation it is called Vasyl Senko. According to Schem, Skitsky is a serviceman of the 22nd Aviation Division, which Ukrainian intelligence considers “responsible for numerous victims and destruction in Ukraine.”
According to the agreement in 1999, Ukraine transferred eight Tu-160 and three Tu-95MS heavy bombers, as well as 575 Kh-55 cruise missiles to the Russian Federation. For this, Russia compensated Ukraine for the debt for Russian gas – in the amount of 275 million dollars. In particular, the agreement was concluded without the approval of the Verkhovna Rada. Later, in the conclusions of the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Council for the investigation of the facts of embezzlement in the Armed Forces and the undermining of the state’s defense capabilities in the period from 2004 to 2017, it was stated that the cost of the weapons was underestimated ten times.
In August 2023, Schemes claimed that Russia was firing at Ukraine with Kh-55 cruise missiles, which Kyiv transferred to Moscow as part of an agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers and the government of the Russian Federation in 1999, which was concluded in exchange for repayment of debts for Russian gas consumed.
Three missiles that were shot down by Ukrainian air defense in January, May and April 2023 in Kyiv and the region are on the list of those handed over to Moscow in 1999.