The incident which happened at the southern Stavropol Region occurred as the aircraft was returning to its home base after a combat mission, a statement by the MoD added. 

The Russian Defence Ministry has reported that its Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range bomber crashed on Friday.

The incident which happened at the southern Stavropol Region occurred as the aircraft was returning to its home base after a combat mission, a statement by the MoD added. 

While technical failure is being suspected for the crash, the ministry said it did not carry munitions at the time.

According to RT, the crew of the Tu-22 ejected. 

Two of them were rescued and their lives are not in danger, Governor Vladimir Vladimirov reported. A third member was killed in the incident, while a fourth remains unaccounted for.

The bomber fell in a field, according to images of the crash site shared by the governor. He said there were no casualties or damage on the ground.

Several videos are circulating online that purport to show the moment of the crash. 

A Tu-22 can be seen in them spiraling in the air and falling down, with fire erupting from its tail section. 

The Ukrainian military has claimed the lost Russian aircraft as one of the military assets destroyed by its air defences. 

Its military intelligence said that the Tu-22 was engaged when it was flying 300 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.

The area of the incident is in the northwestern part of Stavropol region, which borders two other parts of Russia, Rostov region and the Republic of Kalmykia