Six crew members killed as Russian Tu-95 bomber crashes during training mission
Six crew members were killed after a Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable strategic bomber crashed during a training mission in the country's far east on Tuesday, the Defence Ministry said.
The bomber came down in an unpopulated area of the Amur region, the ministry said in a statement. One crew member survived the crash and was taken to hospital with injuries.
According to the ministry, the aircraft was not carrying any weapons at the time of the crash. Investigators have been sent to the area to establish what caused the accident.
The regional administration said the aircraft crashed near Krasnoyarovo village on the Zeya River, close to the Chinese border. It said the pilots “did all they could to steer the plane away from residential buildings.”
The Tu-95 is a four-engine turboprop strategic bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons and has been in service since the Cold War. During the more than 4 1/2-year conflict in Ukraine, Russia has extensively used the aircraft to launch conventionally armed cruise missiles at Ukrainian targets.
Some Tu-95 bombers were destroyed or damaged in Ukraine's “Spiderweb” operation in June 2025. During the operation, drones launched covertly from trucks were used to strike multiple Russian air bases hosting long-range bombers. (with inputs from Associated Press)
