On the morning of 7 October, Russia launched one of the heaviest strikes on Pryluky since the start of the full-scale war. According to preliminary data from the Chernihiv Regional State Administration, the city was attacked with six X-101 cruise missiles. One of them struck a five-storey residential block. According to the latest update from the State Emergency Service, 16 people were killed, including four children, and a further 50 were injured. The historical context of this attack is particularly striking: it was the Pryluky airfield that, in 1987, was the first in the USSR to receive Tu-160 strategic bombers, some of which Ukraine transferred to Russia in 1999–2000.
Briefly about the main points
- Pryluky was attacked with six X-101 cruise missiles.
- One of the rockets struck a five-storey residential block.
- Sixteen people were killed, including four children, and a further 50 were injured.
- It was Pryluky that became the first operational base for the Tu-160 in 1987.
- Between 1999 and 2000, Ukraine transferred eight Tu-160s and three Tu-95MSs to Russia.
Six X-101s were launched from Pryluky
The attack on the town took place at around six o’clock in the morning. Russian missiles struck several locations — a residential building, the Children’s and Youth Creative Centre, and a business.
The worst damage was recorded near the five-storey block of flats. Two entrances to the building were destroyed, throughout the day, rescue workers were clearing away concrete structures and searching for people beneath the rubble.
The number of casualties was rising rapidly. As of the latest update, the State Emergency Service reported that 16 people killed, including four children, and 50 injured. 27 people were admitted to hospital; three were in a serious condition.
That same night, Russia deployed a Tu-160
During the large-scale attack on 7 October, Russia deployed strategic bombers Tu-95MS and Tu-160 — carriers of long-range cruise missiles.
Spokesperson for the Air Force Yuriy Ignat confirmed the deployment of both types of strategic aviation during the night-time strike. Overall, Russia employed missiles launched from various platforms — air, sea and land-based. However, the Air Force did not publicly disclose any specific official link between a particular Tu-160 aircraft and the specific missile that struck Pryluky. But the historical coincidence itself is telling: The city that was the first to receive these strategic bombers has today become the target of a massive missile strike.
Pryluky was the first base for the Tu-160
The first two production Tu-160s arrived at The 184th Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment in Pryluky on 25 April 1987. It was this unit that became the first military unit in the USSR to receive a new strategic missile carrier. Until 1991, the following were stationed in Pryluky: 19 Tu-160s, organised into two squadrons. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the aircraft remained on the territory of independent Ukraine.
The Tu-160 is capable of carrying long-range cruise missiles. Today, the Russian air force is using these aircraft as part of its strategic missile strikes against Ukraine.
Ukraine has handed over eight Tu-160s to Russia
In 1999–2000, Ukraine and Russia implemented an intergovernmental agreement on the repayment of part of the debt for natural gas.
The following was handed over to the Russian side:
- 8 Tu-160 aircraft;
- 3 Tu-95MS;
- 581 X-55 cruise missiles.
The value of the transferred weapons was recorded as a repayment of approximately $285 million in gas debt. The other Ukrainian strategic bombers were scrapped during that period. One Tu-160 has been preserved as a museum exhibit in Poltava.
At least six of the Tu-160s that were handed over remain in the Russian Federation’s operational fleet
In 2024, journalists from «Schemes» identified the serial numbers of the aircraft that Ukraine had handed over to Russia in the late 1990s.
According to the findings of their investigation, At least six of the eight Tu-160s that were handed over remained in the active service of the Russian strategic air force. Journalists have also identified Russian military pilots whom Ukrainian intelligence links to the massive missile strikes on Ukraine.
From the Tu-160’s first base to the X-101 strike
In this context, the history of Pryluky has come full circle in a tragic way.
In the late 1980s, the city was one of the main centres of Soviet strategic aviation. Following the declaration of independence, Ukraine acquired one of the most powerful aviation groups of its kind in the world.
Some of the aircraft were subsequently handed over to Russia, whilst the rest were scrapped. Decades later, Russia is using the Tu-160 in the war against Ukraine, and On 7 October 2026, Pryluky was attacked by six X-101s. The strike destroyed residential buildings and killed adults and children.
