Second Russian Kinzhal missile carrier arrives in Belarus in 2 days, monitoring group says
A second Russian Mig-31K jet, capable of carrying Kinzhal missiles, landed in Belarus' Machulishchy airport on Oct. 10, the Belarusian Hajun monitoring group reported.
The first Russian MiG-31K interceptor aircraft landed at the Machulishchy airfield in Belarus on Oct. 9, for the first time since April 2023, when three Russian MiG-31Ks left the country and have not been spotted there since then.
Both planes were spotted moving south at 3:10 p.m. local time, the group noted. It is unclear at the time of the publication whether they are being repositioned again or carrying out a maneuver.
While Belarus, an ally of Russia, has not directly participated in the war, it has allowed the Kremlin to use its territory as a staging ground for its operations against Ukraine.
Moscow stationed several MiG-31K aircraft in Belarus after the start of its full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, launching missiles at Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities from its airfields.
Russia frequently lifts MiG-31K aircraft from airfields on its territory to attack Ukraine.
The advanced air-launched Kinzhal missile is difficult to intercept and shoot down. They have an operational range of some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles), which means that all of Ukraine is at risk if the missile is launched from Russian airspace.
Ukraine's Air Force said in January that air defenses had intercepted 25 out of 63 Kinzhal missiles since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Illia Ponomarenko
