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The Russian military has sent long-range nuclear-capable bombers and fighter jets carrying hypersonic missiles to its air base in Syria for major exercises in the Mediterranean amid escalating tensions with the West over Ukraine.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived there on his own to oversee the maneuvers marking the largest Russian naval deployment in the Mediterranean since the Cold War. Shoigu met with Bashar Assad to brief him on the exercises and to discuss plans to deepen military-technical co-operation.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that the exercise in the eastern Mediterranean includes 15 warships and about 30 aircraft. The maneuvers, he said, are aimed at preparing to “protect national interests” and “avoid military threats against the Russian Federation.”
Long-range nuclear-capable Tu-22M3 bombers and MiG-31 fighter jets carrying the latest Kinzhal hypersonic missiles landed at Hemeimeem Russian Air Base in the coastal province of Latakia.
The military says Kinzhal has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers and flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it difficult to spot.
The deployment of Kinzhal missiles in Syria has been interpreted as a move aimed at demonstrating the Russian military’s ability to threaten the US aircraft carrier attack group in the Mediterranean.
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