Russian President Putin makes new move in the Black Sea

The decision was made in the context of the US transferring long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine and the way the US deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups near Israel, Mr. Putin said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had ordered fighter jets armed with hypersonic missiles to begin 24-hour patrols over the Black Sea – a move the US said would raise tensions amid the war in Ukraine and the escalating crisis in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas.

“This is not a threat… On my instructions, the Russian Aerospace Forces will start regular patrols in neutral airspace over the Black Sea and MiG-31 aircraft will be equipped with Kinzhal systems,” Putin told reporters in Beijing after talks on October 18 with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

With a range of more than 1,000 km and a speed of Mach 9 (equivalent to 11,000 km/h), Kinzhal (Dagger) is Russia's latest weapon with a “hypersonic ballistic missile equipped on the MiG-31K interceptor fighter,” Russian state news agency TASS said, adding that the Kinzhal missile has a low radar signature and high maneuverability, and is designed to attack ground and naval targets.

“I stress that this is not a threat, but we will exercise visual control – control with weapons – over what is happening in the Mediterranean Sea,” Putin said.

The Black Sea, or Black Sea, is an inland sea located between Southeast Europe and Asia Minor. It is connected to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea via the Bosporus Strait and the Sea of ​​Marmara.

Russian Aerospace Forces MiG-31K fighter jet carrying Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic cruise missile. Photo: Sputnik

“All this is heating up the atmosphere” amid the conflict in the Middle East, the Russian leader said.

Shortly after the latest conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas group broke out on October 7, the United States sent the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group (CSG) to the Eastern Mediterranean “to deter any actor seeking to escalate or expand this conflict.”

Efforts to improve the US posture continue, including rapidly introducing US Air Force F-15s, F-16s and A-10s into the theater to augment existing fighter squadrons in the region.

In the Ukraine theater, US President Joe Biden agreed last month to provide Kiev with a limited number of the powerful Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on October 17 that the ATACMS had “proven itself” after his military launched strikes on Russian airfields in Lugansk and Berdyansk on the Sea of ​​Azov, more than 100 kilometers from the front line.

Mr Putin said the US had “made a mistake” by supplying ATACMS to Ukraine. He said the missiles “only prolong the pain” for Ukraine and that Russia “will definitely be able to repel these attacks” .

Minh Duc (According to Bloomberg, Al Arabiya)

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