Russia Deploys Tu-22M3 Bombers From Far East Closer to Ukraine

Russia has redeployed 16 Tu-22M3 bombers carrying supersonic cruise missiles Kh-22 and Kh-32 from the Far East to the Olenya airfield, closer to Ukraine.

This was reported by monitoring channels.

At first, monitoring resources recorded 9 aircraft, then this number increased to 16. It is reported that all the airplanes were redeployed from the Far East and landed at the Olenya airfield in the Murmansk region.

Olenya is located about 1,800 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, and the maximum combat radius of Tu-22M3 bombers with a payload of 12,000 kg is 2,410 kilometers. At the same time, the Kh-22/Kh-32 missiles have a maximum range of 300-1000 kilometers, depending on the modification.

This may indicate that the Russians are preparing a massive missile strike, which could involve Kh-22/Kh-32 missiles. Due to their high altitude and speed, these missiles are a difficult target for air defense. Despite their low accuracy, they have a large warhead that can cause significant damage.

Prior to Operation Spiderweb in June 2025, during which a large number of strategic and long-range bombers were destroyed and damaged, Tu-22M3s were more often used to strike Ukraine. However, they have since been redeployed to the Far East, and have only been used once since then.

The previous time Tu-22M3 bombers were used to strike Ukraine was on August 2, 2025. Back then, one such missile was used to strike Mykolaiv, destroying several private houses.

Kh-22/Kh-32 missiles

The Kh-22 is a supersonic long-range air-launched anti-ship missile. Development of the missile began in 1958. The main purpose of the missile was to strike ships using a conventional warhead or groups of ships (aircraft carrier groups) using a nuclear warhead.

In the conventional version, the missile is equipped with an explosive-accumulative penetrator warhead weighing 960 kilograms.

The missile is powered by a two-mode liquid-fuel jet engine R201-300, which provides a flight speed of Mach 3.5-4.6. The fuel tanks are sufficient to allow the missile to cover a distance of up to 300 kilometers. Most of the missile’s flight path lies at an altitude of over 22 kilometers.

The missile’s guidance system is a combination of an inertial system and a homing radar head for targeting ships. When operating in passive mode, the circular probable deviation is significantly increased, which can reach 5 kilometers.

The Kh-32 is a deep modernization of the Kh-22 missile, which began development in the late 1980s. Due to the collapse of the USSR, work on its creation was frozen several times. At the end of 2016, the Kh-32 missile was officially adopted.

The missile has the same body as the Kh-22, and the fuel tanks have been enlarged by reducing the warhead. The flight speed of the Kh-32 is Mach 3.5-4.6, and the range is 600-1000 kilometers due to the increased volume of the tanks.

In addition, the deeply modernized missile received a new interference-proof radar-inertial guidance system with radio command correction and terrain reference.

More information about the missiles in our special material “Russian Cruise Missiles: Manufacturers, Nomenclature and Capabilities”.