Eighteen years ago, on January 27, Poltava witnessed the destruction of the last of 60 Ukrainian Tu-22M3 bombers and 423 Kh-22 missiles as part of the agreement "On the Elimination of Strategic Nuclear Weapons and Weapons of Mass Destruction."

Ukraine had transferred these missiles to Russia along with the Tu-22M3 as payment for gas debts. However, Russia did not accept all the bombers for gas debts, leaving only those in poor condition. Consequently, Ukraine was compelled to destroy them independently.

Ironically, these very models of bombers are now being used by Russian forces in attacks on Ukraine with the Kh-22 missiles. It's noteworthy that shooting down these supersonic missiles poses a considerable challenge for conventional Ukrainian air defense systems.