Ukraine war: Russia deploys hypersonic missiles to Kaliningrad in show of force
- 3 MiG-31 fighter jets with Kinzhal weapons systems will be put on round-the-clock alert in the country’s westernmost Baltic region
- The area borders Poland and Lithuania, and Moscow’s move appears intended to showcase its military’s capability to threaten Nato assets
The Russian military said on Thursday that it has deployed warplanes armed with state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles to the country’s westernmost Baltic region, a move that comes amid soaring tensions with the West over Moscow’s action in Ukraine.
Russia’s defence ministry said three MiG-31 fighters with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles arrived at the Chkalovsk airbase in the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad as part of “additional measures of strategic deterrence”.
The ministry said the warplanes will be put on round-the-clock alert.
A video released by the defence ministry showed the fighters arriving at the base but not carrying the missiles, which were apparently delivered separately.
Finland’s defence ministry said on Thursday that two Russian MiG-31 planes were suspected of having violating Finnish airspace in the Gulf of Finland off the southern town of Porvoo, west of Helsinki. The Nordic country’s Border Guard started a preliminary investigation into the incident.
The deployment of Kinzhal missiles to Kaliningrad as Russia’s campaign in Ukraine nears the sixth-month mark appeared intended to showcase the Russian military’s capability to threaten Nato assets. The region borders Nato members Poland and Lithuania.
