Russian pilots flying a Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber mistakenly hit a grain ship in the Black Sea having “targeted it in haste,” likely while trying to evade Ukrainian air defenses, U.K. defense officials have said.
The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a social media post that the merchant vessel Aya may have narrowly avoided catastrophic damage because a missile failed to detonate.
The Russian Defense Ministry has been contacted for comment via email.
In an intelligence update shared on X, formerly Twitter, the MoD said: “On 11 September 2024, the merchant vessel Aya was struck by a missile in the Black Sea as it transited south from the Ukrainian port of Odesa, having been loaded with more than 26 thousand tons of grain bound for Egypt.
A Tu-22M3 bomber takes off from an undisclosed location in Russia. Russian pilots flying a Tu-22M3 mistakenly hit a grain ship in the Black Sea having “targeted it in haste” while trying to evade Ukrainian air defenses, U.K. defense officials said.
AP
“It is almost certain that the missile was an AS-4 KITCHEN anti-ship missile launched by a Tu-22M3 BACKFIRE Russian bomber that was operating in the area at the time. It is a realistic possibility that a detonation failure avoided catastrophic damage.”
The MoD said it was unlikely that the ship was the intended target of the mission and an aging munition may have been used.
“It is a realistic possibility that this incident occurred due to pilots incorrectly identifying MV Aya as their target in haste, wanting to depart the area immediately after launch for fear of being targeted by a Ukrainian surface-to-air missile,” British officials said.
They reported that Russia has grown increasingly cautious about its strike operations in the Black Sea region since the loss of a Tu-22 earlier this year.
A Tupolev Tu-160 and Tu-22M3 military aircraft fly over Red Square in Moscow on June 24, 2020. Russian pilots flying a Tu-22M3 bomber mistakenly hit a grain ship in the Black Sea having “targeted it in haste,” U.K. defense officials have said.
Pavel Golovkin/AFP
In April, Ukraine downed a Russian Tu-22M3 for the first time in the war, according to Kyiv’s military intelligence.
Ukraine said that Kyiv’s forces shot down the aircraft, causing it to crash in Russia’s Stavropol Territory.
The Tu-22M3 is a long-range bomber designed to destroy sea- and ground-based targets with guided missiles and bombs.
The latest report comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Western partners are “dragging out” a decision over Kyiv’s request to hit Russia with long-range weapons provided by allies.
“We need sufficient quantity and quality of weapons, including long-range weapons, that, in my opinion, our partners are already dragging out,” Zelensky said alongside NATO chief Mark Rutte on October 3.
“We will continue to convince our partners of the need to shoot down Russian missiles and drones,” he said.
In response to Zelensky’s remarks, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said, “We have a limited supply of long-range missiles” and “we are not dragging it out.”
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