Russian aircraft mystery: Old bombers or strategic theft?
Russian strategic aviation consists of two types of aircraft: the jet-powered Tu-160 with variable-sweep wings and the older, but more numerous, Tu-95 with turboprop engines. According to Ukrainian sources, most of the Tu-95s currently operated by Russia were acquired through an unusual theft, allowing Russia to expand its strategic aviation in the 1990s.
Russian propaganda eagerly boasts about the Tu-160 aircraft, whose production was resumed in 2015 after a long hiatus. Contrary to these messages, the "White Swans," as they are known, are not particularly modern and are limited in number. The Russian air force has between 13 and 16 of these aircraft, but the number actually fit for flight is unclear.
The real workhorse of Russian aviation remains the old Tu-95. Russian strategic aviation currently fields between 45 and 60 of these aircraft, according to various sources. Unofficial sources claim that only a few of these intensively used planes may be flight-ready.
After the collapse of the USSR, it was known that there were no more than 30 Tu-95 on Russian territory, with production at the Kuybyshev Aviation Plant ending in February 1992. So, how did Russia acquire additional aircraft?
According to the Ukrainian service Defence Express, the strengthening of Russian strategic aviation occurred through an unusual theft. The goal was to acquire Kazakh Tu-95MS—a modernized version capable of carrying cruise missiles on external mounts.
The theft allegedly involved maneuvers during which Kazakh Tu-95MS landed at a Russian airfield, where they were detained. For this purpose, the Ukrainka airfield in the Amur region, with a 2-mile runway, was used. In exchange, older Tu-95S models with far less capability were sent from Russia to Kazakhstan.
the USA does not confirm the "theft"
Other sources do not confirm the Ukrainian claims. Information about the fate of strategic bombers that ended up in Kazakhstan's territory after the collapse of the USSR was reported nearly 30 years ago by the American Jamestown Foundation.
According to American sources, the strategic bombers were indeed transferred to Russia, but not as the result of a "theft." Instead, it was through an agreement where Kazakhstan received Russian Su-27 fighters in return.
Ukrainian Tu-95 for Russia
In addition to acquiring the Tu-95MS from Kazakhstan (regardless of the method), Russia also strengthened its strategic aviation through Ukraine in the early 1990s, as revealed by an investigation concluded by the Ukrainian editorial team of Radio Svoboda and the Ukrainian investigative journalism project "Schemes" at the end of 2024.
In 1999, Ukraine transferred 11 Tu-95MS bombers along with 575 missiles and 11 turboprop engines to Russia in exchange for the cancellation of part of its debts. Both the Tu-95MS and Kh-55 missiles are currently being used by Russia in attacks on Ukraine.
