Russian Tu-95 Strategic Bomber Crashes in Far East, Killing Six Crew Members

A Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber crashed on Tuesday during a training mission in the country's far east, killing six of its crew members, the Defense Ministry said.

The aircraft went down in an unpopulated area of the Amur region, according to the ministry. One crew member survived and was taken to a hospital with injuries.

The ministry said the bomber was not carrying weapons at the time of the crash. A team of investigators has been sent to the site to establish the cause.

According to the regional administration, the plane came down near the village of Krasnoyarovo on the Zeya River, close to the border with China. The pilots "did all they could to steer the plane away from residential buildings," the administration said.

The Tu-95 is a four-engine turboprop strategic bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons and has been in service since the Cold War. The Russian military has extensively used the aircraft to launch conventionally armed cruise missiles at Ukraine during the ongoing conflict.

In June 2025, some Tu-95s were destroyed or damaged during Ukraine's "Spiderweb" operation, in which drones were covertly launched from trucks to strike several air bases hosting long-range bombers across Russia.