“Ukraine has not yet commented on the statement of the Russian special service”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“The operation of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to hijack the MiG-31 of the Russian Air Force, which is the carrier of the Kinzhal hypersonic air missile, has been exposed and stopped,” Russian media quoted the FSB as saying.
Ukraine has not yet commented on the statement of the Russian special service.
According to the FSB, a “large-scale provocation” was prepared with the participation of “British curators.” The Special Service of the Russian Federation notes that the plane with the “Kynzhal” missile was planned to be sent to the deployment area of the NATO air base near Constanta in Romania.
Later on Tuesday, the FSB Public Relations Center said that in response to the MiG-31 hijacking attempt, the Russian military struck the radio intelligence center of Ukrainian military intelligence in Brovary, as well as the Starokostyantynov airport in Khmelnytskyi region, where F-16s were stationed. The Ukrainian military did not confirm these strikes. According to the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the main focus of the attack on the night of November 11 was the front-line territories of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk regions and Odesa.
The day before, Russian forces attacked the Khmelnytskyi region, but, as reported by the local authorities, there was no destruction or casualties as a result of the attack.
Read also: CBS: officers of the Russian special services are suspected in the murder of the pilot who drove the Mi-8 to Ukraine
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine confirmed in August 2023 that a Russian Mi-8 helicopter had landed at one of Ukraine’s airfields. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, called this operation one of the best conducted by his department in the entire history of Ukraine.
The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense later released the documentary “Downed Russian Pilots”, in which, among other things, the Russian pilot who flew the Russian Mi-8 helicopter to Ukraine was shown for the first time. According to the GUR, the Russian pilot was Maksym Kuzminov.
Russian pilot Maksym Kuzminov told how he flew a Russian Mi-8 helicopter to Ukraine – as part of a special operation of the GUR called “Synitsa”.
In Ukraine, Kuzminov received citizenship and a passport under an assumed name. He was offered to stay in the country, but he decided to move to Spain. There, on February 13, 2024, he was shot in the parking lot near his house.