Russian Tupolev Tu-95 Crashes, 6th Military Aircraft Loss in Less Than a Month
A Russian Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bomber, NATO code name "Bear," crashed during a training exercise in eastern Russia on Tuesday.
As reported by Deutsch Welle, all seven of the people on board the aircraft were able to parachute out before the plane hit the ground. Two of the crew members, however, died after making the jump.
The Express reports that the crew were ordered to abandon the plane over a remote territory once it was clear the bomber would go down.
As reported by the Moscow Times, Tuesday's crash is the sixth loss of a Russian military aircraft in just over a month. The frequent air accidents are drawing attention to the state of Russia's aging aircraft fleet, which has recently seen increased service as relations with the West deteriorate. Russia and NATO nations have disagreed over the separatist forces in Ukraine.
The NATO military alliance has announced that last year it intercepted 400 Russian planes that were close to its borders.
The Defense Ministry announced that the crashed Tu-95, which is capable of carrying nuclear bombs and cruise missiles, was not loaded with any weapons.
The five rescued crew members are, according to the defense ministry, in a condition of "satisfactory" health.
This has been a particularly bad week for the Russian military.
On Monday, as reported by Deutsch Welle, Russian troopers were buried by rubble in Siberia when overnight their sleeping quarters collapsed.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov informed the state news agency RIA that at least 23 people were killed by falling debris in the Siberian city of Omsk. "Forty-two soldiers have been found in the rubble, 23 dead," Konashenkov said.
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Putin has expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, who were all between 18 and 24 years of age.
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com