The Intelligence community of the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom interprets President Vladimir Putin's statement about patrolling the Black Sea with supersonic missile carriers "Kinjal" as an attempt to demonstrate Russian military strength.
This information is from a Saturday intelligence briefing.
As British intelligence recalls, during his visit to China on October 18th, Putin announced that Russia would commence patrolling the eastern part of the Black Sea using MiG-31B fighter aircraft armed with air-launched ballistic missiles, the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal.
At that time, the Russian president referred to the strengthening of the U.S. maritime presence in the eastern Mediterranean through vessels equipped with armament systems with a declared range of up to 2,000 kilometers.
"This announcement is in line with typical Russian rhetoric aimed at its domestic audience, calling the West aggressors whilst framing Russian activity as necessary for protection of the state," as stated in the intelligence briefing.
British intelligence highlights that Putin specifically emphasized the presence of Kinzhals on the MiG-31 and their declared capabilities.
This was "almost certainly" done as a "strategic message" to show that Russia can continue to produce and operate new weaponry despite the war in Ukraine. However, the Kinzhals are still effectively in the stage of operational trials, and their effectiveness in Ukraine has so far been low.
"It remains highly capable on paper, able to fly at hypersonic speeds and evade modern air defence systems, although there almost certainly needs to be significant improvement in how Russia uses it to achieve this potential," summarizes British intelligence.
Ukraine's Air Force had stated that Putin's threats regarding the patrolling of the MiG-31K in the Black Sea might be aimed at increasing tension but wouldn't fundamentally change anything for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
