Ukraine air force claims to have shot down Russian bomber

Rescuers work on the scene of a building damaged after a Russian attack in Dnipro, Ukraine. Photo: AP

Illia Novikov

Ukraine’s air force yesterday claimed it had shot down a Russian strategic bomber, but Moscow officials said the plane crashed in a sparsely populated area due to a malfunction after a combat mission.

Neither claim could be ­independently verified. Previous Ukrainian claims of shooting down Russian warplanes during their more than two-year war have met with silence or denials from Moscow.