On the Air Base of the RF, the Russian Federation concentrated a large number of aircraft: what Moscow intended (photo)

According to published photos on the airway, there are: commenting on this activity, Western observers noted that the base is located 90 km south of Murmansk and was historically used for Russia's strategic aviation. With a runway 3500 meters long, it is suitable for heavy aircraft, including Tu-95MC and TU-22M3, which carry winged rockets X-101 and X-55 with a range of more than 2500 km. After 2022, the "deer" was actively used for attacks on Ukraine.

Bombarders start from the base, fly to the Caspian Sea and from there launch rockets for purposes. At the same time, the remoteness of the base (about 1800 km from the border with Ukraine) partially protects it from strokes of the Armed Forces. Finding out the causes of such activity of the Russians, the experts dispersed.

For example, former director of the British Institute of Rusi Michael Clark believes that Russia consolidates forces before spring offensive, and an increase in the number of TU-22m3 may indicate the preparation of massive blows in Ukraine. For his part, Professor of the Norwegian Institute for Defense Research Katarzhin has suggested that the concentration of such a number of aircraft is due to the need for maintenance of machines or redevelopment.

She stressed that the location of the base is just 150 kilometers from Finland, which has been a NATO member since 2023, and 200 kilometers from Norway complicates any aggressive intentions, as Russia will be afraid to cause an appropriate reaction from the Alliance.

The fact is that any activity on the air base immediately monitors NATO intelligence, which will reduce the element of surprise and potentially retain Russia from the use of the base for anything except its current role in the war against Ukraine. The observers for their part added that the Pentagon has not yet commented on the situation, but emphasized that they continue monitoring Russian military activity.

At the same time, it is possible that Russia is demonstrating force and checking the response of the event, while preparing for possible escalation, although the accurate intentions of Moscow remain unclear. We will remind, on the night of March 11 Ukraine carried out a large -scale attack of drones on objects in the territory of the Russian Federation. The Russian side stated that more than 300 UAVs were inflicted in total.