Ukraine Accused by Russia of Trying to Persuade Strategic Bomber to Defect

Russia said it foiled an attempt by Kyiv to get a Russian military pilot to defect with his strategic bomber. The FSB security service stated that NATO countries’ secret services were involved in the plan to capture a TU-22M3 bomber. Ukraine promised the pilot financial compensation and Italian citizenship to land the bomber in Ukraine. The FSB obtained information during a counter-espionage operation that enabled Russian forces to strike a Ukrainian air base. Russian forces have conducted several strikes on Ukrainian air bases as Kyiv awaits F-16 fighter jets promised by the West. Ukraine convinced Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov to defect with his Mi-8 helicopter last year, who was later found dead in Spain. Kyiv accuses Russia of recruiting from the Ukrainian side. Ukraine’s SBU security service dismantled an FSB agent network preparing to assassinate President Zelensky in May and arrested two Ukrainian officers implicated in the plot.