An engine of one of Russia’s four Mikoyan MiG-31K aircraft stationed on the Machulichy airfield in Belarus caught fire on December 25 which rendered it inoperable “in the near future,” according to the monitoring group Belaruski Hayun referring to its sources. The MiG-31Ks are capable of carrying the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
Belaruski Hayun says that three MiG-31Ks (registration numbers RF-92215, RF-92445, RF-95194) arrived in Machulichy on 13 December which was the second mission of such aircraft in Belarus. Previously, three of those arrived on 16 October and stayed in Belarus for 46 days. This time, the Machulishchy airfield hosts not only the MiG-31Ks but also the Ilyushin IL-76 A-50U “Sergey Atayants” AWACS aircraft (registration number RF-93966).
Two of the three MiGs have already made at least four sorties on December 16, 17, 21, and 25. The third one bearing the number RF-95194 (board number “50 blue”) caught fire in its engine on 25 December which rendered it unflyable “in the near future,” Belaruski Hayun’s sources claimed.
Russia used Kindzhal hypersonic missiles to attack military targets in Vinnytsia Oblast
“Whether the age of the vehicle is to blame here (the MiGs were produced from 1975 to 1994, and adopted in 1981), or the lack of professionalism of the flight crew (this aircraft was modernized after 2015), but the fact of temporary incapacitation of a potential source of death for the Ukrainian people on Christmas may be considered a miracle,” Belaruski Hayun wrote.
On 25 December, another Russian MiG stationed in Machulichy, registration number RF-92445, carried out two two-hour flights triggering air raid alerts all across Ukraine.
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