Russian Tu-134 High-Level Transport Aircraft Destroyed 1000 Km from Ukraine

During the night of October 12-13, a military transport aircraft Tu-134, belonging to the Russian Armed Forces’ 117th military transport aviation regiment was set on fire and destroyed. The aircraft was stationed at the Russian military Orenburg-2 airfield, located over 1000 kilometers (620 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

According to a report on X / Twitter by Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence directorate on Monday, Oct. 14, “A devastating fire broke out at the Russian military airfield Orenburg-2, where the Tu-134 was based.” The post shows the burning aircraft.

The Soviet-era aircraft is often used for transporting high-ranking personnel of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The Tu-134 was originally a Soviet passenger aircraft developed by the Tupolev design bureau and was one of the most common civilian jets employed by the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries during the 1960s-1980s.

It was intended to service short to medium-range domestic and international flights. The Tu-134 was also often used for VIP transport and government needs.

Following the crash of a Tu-134 in 2011, in which 47 people died, the aircraft was withdrawn from commercial service in 2019.

On Sunday, Oct. 13, it was reported that an An-3 plane of the Borus airline crashed in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia.

According to the Main Directorate of Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations in the Republic of Sakha, the An-3 plane made an emergency landing 1.5 km from Olekminsk.

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The local transport prosecutor's office stated that the cause of the emergency landing of the An-3 in Yakutia was a loss of engine thrust.

In September of this year, a Russian Ural Airlines Airbus A320, flying from the Black Sea to Siberia, made an emergency landing in a field, risking the lives of more than 150 passengers, which Kyiv Post also reported.