4.15.22
Russian air force Tu-22M bombers flew into Ukrainian air space on Thursday and dropped unguided bombs on Ukrainian troops in the besieged city of Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov coast. It was the first time the 120-ton, swing-wing, supersonic bombers directly have raided Ukraine since Russia widened its war on the country starting the night of Feb. 23. Before the Mariupol mission, the Tu-22Ms attacked Ukraine without leaving Russian air space—by firing long-range cruise missiles. The bombing run, which was recorded by a Russian drone and later confirmed by Ukrainian officials, could indicate that the Kremlin is running low on cruise missiles. It requires a certain amount of recklessness, or desperation, to fly the big bombers within range of enemy air-defenses. Georgian troops famously shot down a Tu-22M, killing its four crew, during the Russian invasion of the Republic of Georgia in 2008. The drone footage of the Tu-22M raid clearly depicts a stick of gravity bombs exploding on the campus of the Azovstal steel plant on the eastern outskirts of Mariupol. Around 160,000 civilians are trapped in the ruins of Mariupol. Thousands more have died. “The humanitarian situation in the city is worsening,” the U.K. Defense Ministry warned. “Most of the 160,000 remaining residents have no light, communication, medicine, heat or water.” If the Russians really are running low on cruise missiles, expect more bombers to fly directly over the war zone and drop more dumb bombs. Also expect the Ukrainians to take aim at the giant warplanes.
