While Ukraine's forced transfer of eight Tu-160s and three Tu-95MS bombers to russia in 1999 in exchange for gas debt relief is relatively well-known, far fewer people are aware of an even bigger story.
In 1992, Moscow effectively stole up to 40 Tu-95MS bombers from Kazakhstan — thus increasing russia's own fleet of this modification by 1.5 times. Even more remarkably, the theft was disguised through a clever scheme that involved swapping newer Tu-95MS bombers for older Tu-95K aircraft.
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Why Kazakhstan Became the Target
The last Tu-95MS strategic bomber was produced in February 1992 at the Kuybyshev Aircraft Plant. After that, russia no longer had the capability to manufacture this type of strategic aircraft. By that time, the russian military had between 22 and 27 Tu-95MS bombers, 45 older Tu-95K-22s (capable of carrying Kh-22 cruise missiles), and seven Tu-95K training aircraft.
Oddly enough, the largest fleet of Tu-95MS bombers after the Soviet Union's collapse — 40 in total — was inherited by Kazakhstan. Of these, 27 were Tu-95MS-16s (with external missile mounts), and 13 were Tu-95MS-6s (internal bay only). Ukraine, by comparison, had 21 Tu-95MS-6s.
All of Kazakhstan’s bombers were stationed with the 79th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division at the Semipalatinsk-2 airbase, now abandoned. Critically, the new Kazakh government did not yet have full control over the division or its assets. So, russia exploited this vacuum to set the plan into motion.
The Theft Mechanism
Basically, russia took advantage of Kazakhstan’s lack of experience and the inertia of Soviet-era joint flight training protocols. According to Soviet training programs, bomber crews from russia and Kazakhstan were still conducting joint flights between Semipalatinsk-2 and the Ukrainka airbase in russia.
One version of the story claims that when Kazakh Tu-95MS bombers landed at Ukrainka, the russians returned older Tu-95Ks instead. The swap was enabled by unsuspecting or complicit aircrews. By the time Kazakhstan’s military noticed the replacements, it was too late to undo them.
Another version suggests there was no swap — instead, Kazakh Tu-95MS bombers flew to Ukrainka as part of normal training exercises, and the russians simply refused to let them leave.
According to russian sources, 16 to 18 bombers were stolen during February–March 1992. This raises the question of when and how the remaining 22 to 24 aircraft were taken, as some other data suggests.
It’s also unclear how many Tu-95Ks were sent to Kazakhstan as part of the swap — and whether these were the obsolete Tu-95K training aircraft or the more modern Tu-95K-22 cruise missile carriers. There is no clear record either of how Kazakhstan handled the planes it received in return: whether they were scrapped or used for training remains unknown.
Why It Matters
This shadowy operation was more than just a transfer of equipment — it was the foundation of russia’s current fleet of Tu-95MS strategic bombers. And yet, there were no consequences: russia took the core of its long-range bomber force from a newly independent state under the guise of routine procedures — and got away with it.
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