MOSCOW, August 15. /TASS/. A Tupolev Tu-22M3 bomber crashed in the Irkutsk Region in East Siberia and its crew ejected safely, the Defense Ministry of Russia reported on Thursday.

"On August 15, 2024, a Tu-22M3 aircraft crashed while performing a routine flight in the Irkutsk Region. The crew ejected. Their lives are not in danger. The aircraft crashed in a desolate area. There is no destruction on the ground. According to preliminary data, a technical fault is behind the crash," the ministry said in a statement.