Russia appears to have moved heavy military equipment from the Kaliningrad region. These must be rocket systems.
In the last weeks of October and the first weeks of November, publicly available flight data show an unusually high number of military aircraft flying in and out of the Russian border region of Kaliningrad. An anonymous account on X.com, which evaluates and analyzes public flight data, said there were six times more flights than usual.
Kaliningrad is strategically important: ships from the Baltic Fleet are stationed here, and nuclear missiles are said to be stored in the enclave on NATO’s doorstep. But what did cargo planes carry?
Research portal “Bellingcat” now believes it has found an answer. First, the aircraft identification numbers confirmed that they were Antonov-124 and Ilyushin-76 aircraft, both cargo planes capable of carrying heavy equipment.
The maps show an empty space
It was speculated that it might be materials for the front. Correspondents of “Bellingcat” investigated the question of whether these could be S-400 missile defense systems.
Corresponding evidence was found in aerial photographs of earlier stages – where there were significant changes. The research used not only satellite images, but also state-of-the-art SAR satellite technology. Similar to how bats detect obstacles in the dark, it sends signals to objects that can evaluate their reflections. In some places, according to Bellingate, the data changed significantly – where the security systems used to be, there was now a blank area.
It is unclear where the object was moved. Flight data stops shortly after takeoff and no associated landings are detected. However, it is common for military aircraft to switch off their transponders while in flight so they cannot be detected.
Russia is currently attacking Ukraine with warplanes. The S-400s can intercept incoming Ukrainian material, both aircraft and drones, as well as missiles. However, you run the risk of being hit by enemy missiles.
The British Army sees a need for a transfer
With flights of MiG-31 fighter jets, Russia recently triggered an air alert in Ukraine that lasted two days in a row. In the capital Kyiv, the alarm lasted for more than two hours on Wednesday afternoon, according to data from the state alert app. It took almost three hours on Tuesday.
The British Ministry of Defense said a week ago that Russia must redeploy its air defense systems to Ukraine because of an attack by US ATACMS missiles. A British assessment said there was a realistic possibility that Russia would weaken its air defenses in other operational areas if it replaced systems destroyed in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday warned his people of Russian airstrikes in the coming winter. “Russia is preparing for winter,” Zelensky said in his evening address on Telegram. Ukraine should therefore be prepared for Moscow to increase the number of drone and missile attacks on its infrastructure.
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