NUKE JET RAID
Inside daring special ops mission to HIJACK Russian nuclear bomber & fly it to Ukraine…before Putin’s spies rumbled plan
Footage released by Russian intelligence shows piles of captured cash promised to a pilot
A DARING special ops mission was launched to hijack a £228million Russian military aircraft and fly it to Ukraine, it has been claimed.
Russian intelligence says it thwarted the audacious bid to nab a Tu-22M3 long-range strategic bomber - which makes a key part of Vladimir Putin's nuclear strike force.
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Kyiv intelligence intended to recruit one of Putin's military pilots for £2.34 million and offer him Italian citizenship so that he would fly the nuclear bomber to Ukraine, claimed the FSB.
Special forces of Nato countries allegedly carried out the operation, it added.
The FSB said: "Ukrainian intelligence planned to recruit a Russian military pilot by promising him a monetary reward and Italian citizenship and make him fly the aircraft to Ukraine."
Footage released by Russian intelligence shows piles of captured cash in US dollars banknotes allegedly promised to the pilot in return.
He was also offered a chance to open a bank account in Poland to deposit the money.
The Russian military pilot alleged that he received messages from Ukrainian intelligence in a "clumsy and crude" operation.
He said in a video: "I got a message on Telegram [messenger service] from an unknown person. He introduced himself as Pavlo.
"He offered me to hijack a combat aircraft and fly it to Ukraine.
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"It was not just any plane but a [22M3] long-range rocket bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons."
Without providing a shred of evidence, the Russian pilot said he was asked for sensitive military information - including technical information about the aircraft.
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He claimed: "I was asked to give away the data on my aircraft, including numbers, technical condition and maintenance schedule.
"I went to the commander and told him everything."
It is understood that the alleged agent did not even try to hide his Ukrainian identity.
The FSB said that they foiled the ambitious plan and instead, the Russian army bombed the Ozerne military airfield in the Zhytomyr region.
"When Ukrainian soldiers gathered to meet the damaged area, they were hit by a missile," one member of the intelligence unit said.
However, it is unclear when the alleged incident took place - and the time of the strike at the airfield.
The FSB said that the Ukrainian agent had threatened to harm the pilot and his young daughters if he did not cooperate.
The pilot claimed: "Threats turned into blackmail. He straight away started with threats against my close relatives and demanded I set my aircraft on fire."
Russia has widely used Tu-22M3 nuclear bombers in the war to fire conventional missiles at Ukraine.
It makes a key part of Putin's nuclear strike force.
The Tupolev Tu-22M3, which was deployed for the first time by Russia in its war with Ukraine during the "carpet-bombing" of Mariupol, has an operational range of nearly 7,000km
It can also carry Kh-15 nuclear or anti-radar missiles, as well as Kh-22 long-range naval strike missiles.
With a crew of four airmen, the Backfire can reach max speeds of more than Mach 2 (2,300kmph).
In April, Ukraine claimed to have shot down one of the Tu-22M3 in an aerial blitz - an incident that was seen as a major blow to the dictator Putin.
It comes after Britain's new Defence Secretary dashed for cover from Putin’s missiles yesterday on his first official visit to Ukraine.
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John Healey was scrambled to a bomb shelter as air raid sirens rang out across Odesa.
He was rushed to the basement of a Soviet-era building acting as Mr Umerov’s temporary HQ.
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