Prolonged flights of MiG-31 fighters are actually bringing life to a standstill in Ukraine

The Russian Federation may continue its terrorist tactics, when prolongedalerts may be declared in Ukraine due to the threat of strikes by X-47M2Kinzhal air-ballistic missiles.

This was stated on RadioLiberty by the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuriy Ihnat, whenasked whether Russia could arrange alerts in Ukraine for 12 hours a day.

"We have already had long drills before. Previously, they justlasted 20-30 minutes - we practised take-off and landing, but five times a day.This kept us on our toes, because the alarm would go off, disappear, and thenstart again in half an hour. This also stretched for half a day. In addition,they used to take off for an hour and a half - that's how long MiG tanks canstay in the air without refuelling. There were three or four such take-offsabout six months ago. An hour and a half is practically the whole day," heexplained.

According to him, such threats not only affect the economy and business,but also stop transport, the subway and educational institutions. Therefore,Russia will use all tools to destroy the Ukrainian economy with prolongeddowntime due to anxiety in the absence of success on the battlefield.

At the same time, Yuriy Ihnat noted that there is currently no divisionof Ukrainian regions into danger levels during the alert, as it is virtuallyimpossible to predict the nature and scale of a ballistic missile attack.

Russiansare preparing to fly to Iran via Syria

Roman Svitan, a military expert, pilot-instructor and retired colonel ofthe Armed Forces of Ukraine, said in an interview with Channel24 that the reason for the MiG-31 fighter jet training was the problemsthat could arise with Russian bases in Syria. According to him, if Iran andHezbollah enter into a confrontation with Israel, the United States will beforced to intervene, and Iran can be reached through Syria, where Russian militarybases are located.

"The Russians should prepare long-range interceptors to perform suchtasks to control Syrian airspace. One of the mechanisms is to prepare theaircrew for aerial refuelling. The fact is that the MiG-31 does not have arange of 3,000 kilometres to complete the task," the analyst explained.

Svitan added that the MiG-31 is a long-range interceptor that can fly3,000 kilometres, performing combat missions without refuelling, and more than5,000 kilometres with refuelling. He added that the aircrew is not ready torefuel in the air.

"Refuelling these aircraft is very difficult. The MiG-31 cannot landwhen it is fully refuelled because it cannot support the weight of the fuel.The enemy has to refuel in the air. That's why the Russian aircraft stays inthe air for so long," the expert said.

It should be noted that in 2022, the Russians also initially conductedtraining and control flights of the MiG-31 for refuelling in the air. However,later, during one of these flights, they launched Kinzhal missiles at theterritory of Ukraine.

Thenegative impact of MiG-31 flights on life in Ukraine

On 18 October, dictator Vladimir Putin announced that Russian AerospaceForces MiG-31 aircraft would begin patrolling the neutral zone of airspace over the Black Sea on a regular basis.

Since then, Ukraine has been experiencing more frequent air alerts due toMiG-31K fighter jets taking off from the Russian airfields of Savasleyka andMozdok. Whereas previously these aircraft only took off and landed for about 30minutes, in recent weeks Russian pilots have been regularly practising aerialrefuelling and other manoeuvres. As a result, alarms last for several hours in a row throughout Ukraine. This has a negative impact on Ukraine's economy, as in most majorcities, ground transport and partially the subway system is shut down duringthe alert. Children and teachers of educational institutions stop studyingduring the alert and stay in shelters until the alarm goes off. In addition,office and shopping centres, as well as some businesses, suspend operations,and their employees are forced to go down to bomb shelters.

At a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff on 17 November,President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the Ministry of Defence, the GeneralStaff and the Cabinet of Ministers to propose solutions to preventthe flights of the Daggers from paralysing the country for several hours.

Thelongest alerts of autumn 2023 due to MiG-31 take-offs

On 4 November, three MiG-31K fighterjets took off at once, and they stayed in the air for 2.5 hours.

On 10 November, a nationwide alert was raised due to the flight of theKinzhal missile carrier, which lasted3 hours and 37 minutes. On 11 November, a MiG-31K took off from Savasleykaairfield and stayed in the air for 2.5 hours.

On 14 November, life in Ukraine also came to a standstill for 2.5 hoursdue to the alert, and on 15 November, the MiG-31K plunged the country into a shutdownfor 2 hours.