Ukraine destroyed a Tu-95 strategic bomber at Russia’s Engels airbase, about 800 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
On Friday local time, Zelensky said on social media that the military aircraft was used by Russia to carry out missile attacks on Ukraine.
“We defend ourselves fairly and vigorously,” he said.
Ukrainian forces also attacked Russian oil industry facilities, Zelensky added.
“We are increasing the price that Russia pays for aggression against our country and our people,” he said.
As a result of Ukraine’s “Spider’s Web” attack on Russia last year, several Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 bombers were damaged.
Long-range strategic bombers were used to launch missile attacks on Ukraine.
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Putin critic convicted and barred from parliamentary race
Meanwhile in Russia, Boris Nadezhdin, a critic of Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine and a contender in the 2024 elections, was found guilty of displaying “extremist symbols” – an act that will bar him from this year’s parliamentary race.
The charges against Nadezhdin, 63, were based on a 2023 online interview in which he briefly showed a photo of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was at the time serving a 19-year prison sentence on extremism charges that were widely seen as politically motivated.
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Navalny later died in the Arctic colony in February 2024.
Mr Nadezhdin has dismissed the case against him as absurd and said authorities were trying to prevent him from campaigning in September’s parliamentary elections.
A court in Dolgoprudny, the town on the northern outskirts of Moscow where he lives, found him guilty and ordered him to pay a fine of 1,000 rubles (about $19).
A week ago, the Russian Ministry of Justice called Nadezhdin a “foreign agent.” This definition carries strong pejorative connotations and requires additional attention from the government.
The verdict will not allow Boris Nadezhdin to participate in the upcoming parliamentary race. (AP: Pavel Bednyakov)
It also bars him from holding public office, but he can still wage his symbolic campaign for a seat in parliament until Friday’s verdict.
Mr Nadezhdin complained of feeling unwell during Friday’s hearing, which was adjourned to allow ambulance crews to check his condition.
Before the hearing, he said he was considering traveling abroad but was prohibited from leaving Russia.
In January 2024, Mr. Nadezhdin collected thousands of signatures in an open call for an end to hostilities in Ukraine.
But he was left off the ballot in March 2024 after Russia’s Supreme Court ruled that more than 9,000 signatures submitted by his campaign were invalid—enough to disqualify him.
Putin faced only formal opposition in the elections and easily won a fifth term.
Wires/ABC