Russian President Vladimir Putin narrowly missed a tragedy during a flight with Russian-made bomber, news.de and newsweek write.
In February this year, Putin boarded a Tu-160M strategic bomber for a test flight. Afterwards, the president of the federation praised the plane and said it was easy to fly and “reliable".
In reality, however, it is just the opposite. The same Tu-160M bomber that Putin boarded crashed a few weeks later (on April 11) on takeoff from the Kazan Aviation Plant.
The information was confirmed by the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, which has sources in the Russian services. Then the cause of the accident was a fire in the engines.
„It is obvious that on February 22, 2024, the long flight of Tu-160M aircraft No. 801 with the President and Supreme Commander of the Russian Armed Forces (Putin) on board could have ended in a terrible tragedy, according to those close to the services .
The "serious concerns due to the unsatisfactory technical condition of one of the main carriers of Russian nuclear weapons" are also indicated. This is a potential threat of disrupting the combat readiness of a significant part of the Tu-160M strategic bombers, part of the Russian nuclear triad.
The Tu-160M is the heaviest combat aircraft in the world and can carry 12 cruise missiles or 12 short-range nuclear missiles. According to the report, Vladimir Putin was furious after the Tupolev crash and mobilized all investigative agencies to find the cause of the accident.