01 November 2022, Tuesday, 10:37 648

RF transfers fighters capable of carrying Kinzhal missiles to Belarus – British intelligence

Editor: Roman Vaniyan

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British intelligence believes that Russia has flown fighter-interceptors capable of carrying Kinzhal [Dagger] missiles to Belarus to send a message to the West and portray Belarus as a country increasingly involved in the war.

This is stated in a recent intelligence review by the Ministry of Defense of Britain.

"Images showed that two MiG-31K interceptor aircraft were almost certainly parked at the Belarusian airfield at Machulyshchi on October 17, with a large container stored next to them in a protective earthen embankment. It is likely that the container is associated with an air-launched ballistic missile AS- 24 KILLJOY missile, a large-sized munition for which the MiG-31K variant is adapted for transportation," the review says.

It is noted that Russia has adopted Kinzhal into service since 2018, but they were not used in Belarus before.

"Russia has occasionally launched these weapons during the war in Ukraine, but its stockpiles are likely very limited. It continues to use advanced long-range munitions against targets of limited operational importance. With a range of more than 2,000 km, placing the Kinzhals in Belarus gives Russia a small additional advantage from the point of view of hitting additional targets in the territory of Ukraine. Most likely, it deployed missiles mainly in order to send a message to the West and present Belarus as the country increasingly involved in the war," believes British intelligence.

As reported by Ukrainian News Agency, today, October 31, the head of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration, Vyacheslav Chaus, announced the mass launch of missiles by Russia.

Later, information about damage to critical infrastructure facilities came from Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Cherkasy regions.

At the same time, on October 31, the air defense forces of Ukraine destroyed 44 missiles out of more than 50 launched by the occupiers from strategic aviation.

Putin called the massive shelling of Ukraine "an answer for Sevastopol."