A Tupolev Tu-22M3 bomber performs during the International Army Games 2016, in Dubrovichi outside Ryazan, Russia, in 2016.;
Credit: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
(Reuters) - Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) blocked an attempt by Ukraine to organise the hijacking of a Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber and fly it to Ukraine, the FSB said on Monday 8 July 2024.
"Ukrainian intelligence intended to recruit a Russian military pilot for a monetary reward and the provision of Italian citizenship, to persuade him to fly and land a missile carrier in Ukraine," the FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said on its website.
Reuters could not independently verify the details. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has not immediately responded to Reuters' request for a comment.
During the operation, Russia received information that helped its forces to strike the Ozerne airfield in north-western Ukraine, the FSB added in its statement.
