Russian dictator vladimir putin accused of war crimes has instructed to begin patrolling the Black Sea with aircraft equipped with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
Putin made the corresponding statement at a press conference following a visit to China, RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
"On my instructions, the russian military-space forces begin patrolling on an ongoing basis in the neutral zone of airspace over the Black Sea," the russian dictator said.
Putin added that MiG-31 interceptor fighters with Kinzhal missiles on board will patrol the territory of the Black Sea.
According to him, this step is allegedly russia's response to the deployment of two U.S. aircraft carrier groups in the eastern Mediterranean.
MiG-31 is a Soviet supersonic long-range interceptor fighter developed in the 1970s.
Since 2018, modifications of the MiG-31 fighter began to be equipped with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometers.
As a rule, when this aircraft takes off into the sky, air alarm is declared throughout Ukraine.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on August 12, the speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yurii Ihnat, said that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian air defense was able to shoot down 13 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
Recall that the Ukrainian military managed to shoot down a Kinzhal missile for the first time on May 4, 2023, when the invaders tried to attack Kyiv.
American air defense system MIM-104 Patriot shot down the missile. This information was later confirmed by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.