Are there signs of Russia preparing for massive strike on Ukraine: Expert opinion
Photo: Russian bomber Tu-95MS (Getty Images)
Russian forces are likely preparing for a massive missile strike on Ukraine. However, at the moment, they are only conducting pilot training on Tu-95 and Tu-160 aircraft.
Aviation expert Kostiantyn Kryvolap tells about this in the commentary for RBC-Ukraine.
"It’s hard to say if there are any concrete signs, but it's almost clear that something is happening and they are preparing for something. The first point to note regarding the use of Tu-95 aircraft for launching Kh-101 missiles is that they tried to deploy 20 Tu-95s for these tasks, but it hasn’t been very successful," said Kryvolap.
He emphasized that Russia still has 13-14 aircraft capable of performing these functions, which "constantly shuttle between Olenya and Engels airbases."
"At Engels, they seem to be performing some kind of maintenance, as by the number of flights, they should be fully equipped with Kh-101 missiles and ready for their tasks. Instead, they are flying, training, conducting false launches, and setting up decoy targets. There’s also an additional Tu-160," noted the expert.
According to Kryvolap, this indicates they are aware of their shortage of Kh-101 carriers and crews.
"Therefore, it seems they have launched some sort of pilot training program for Tu-95 and Tu-160 aircraft," the expert added.
