Ukraine Reports Army Transport Plane Destroyed in Russia

Kyiv said Monday its forces had destroyed a Russian military transport plane stationed at an airfield deep inside Russian territory over the weekend. Ukraine has stepped up attacks inside Russian territory in recent months, targeting military sites and energy facilities to disrupt Russian military logistics. The Tu-134 transport aircraft was destroyed at a military airfield in the Orenburg region, about 1,000 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. The Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine stated that these aircraft are mainly used to transport the Russian defense ministry leadership. Moscow has detained hundreds of people since the start of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 for alleged sabotage and arson attacks on military and infrastructure sites.

In a tweet, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine confirmed the destruction of the Russian military transport plane Tu-134 on October 13, 2024. The aircraft belonged to the 117th military transport aviation regiment of the aggressor state. The tweet included a link for more information and a picture of the burned aircraft.