Spokesman of the Air Force Command: We know any air target in Belarus

- We are closely monitoring all airfields used by the enemy on the territory of Belarus, - noted Colonel Yuriy Ihnat, - All of them are under the close control of our radar intelligence and all intelligence in general. We know everything.

The officer also urged not to panic about the presence of several fighters and transport aircrafts of the aggressor's military space forces at the airfields in Belarus.

- Perhaps the purpose of these exercises is to regroup the enemy's troops, or perhaps they want to move their forces to the east of Ukraine, as they did before, - he suggested, - Of course, we will also observe these exercises.

Regarding the threat of an attack by Belarus under the guise of so-called military exercises, Colonel Yuriy Ihnat reassured that all the enemy's actions are under control and there are no signs of the enemy creating strike groups. However, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other law enforcement agencies do not lose vigilance. Because we all remember well how last year Russia created a group of thousands of troops under the cover of fake exercises, which treacherously entered Ukraine on February 24.

- We see that since the beginning of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, the military airfields of Belarus have been actively used to launch missile strikes on our country, - said Colonel Yuriy Ihnat, - reports on Kyiv and critical infrastructure facilities around the capital were used by enemy aircraft and Iskander tactical systems. Now we do not observe that Russia is using Belarus to launch missile strikes on Ukraine.

Colonel Yuriy Ihnat called unrealistic the scenario of the Russian landing by aircraft on the territory of Ukraine or directly in Kyiv.

- Even if they dare to make such a bold move, they are unlikely to be able to even fly to the border, - the officer said - We will meet the enemy with dignity. The main thing is to receive anti-missile weapons systems from our Western partners. After all, we see that the Russians can use ballistic missiles, so we expect a sufficient number of air defense systems to protect Ukraine as much as possible.

Speaking about the tragedy in Dnipro, where Russia launched a missile strike on a residential building, which resulted in numerous casualties, Colonel Yuriy Ihnat said that such a strike is a technically complicated thing.

- There is a route, there is a navigator, - he noted, - there is a whole crew. They have pre-flight tasks and so on. They know perfectly well where they will shoot and what their target will be. And they know how inaccurate their missile is. Therefore, they know perfectly well that they will hit a civilian object. It is a crime to strike civilian infrastructure with such missiles. Of course, this strike must be given a strict legal assessment and all the killers must be punished.

Yesterday, for the first time, Russians used S-300 missiles during a missile strike on Kyiv. According to Colonel Yuriy Ignat, two sides of this issue are now being considered, whether it was S-300 or S-400 missiles. The speed of these missiles is very high and the distance from the border to Kyiv is covered in just a few minutes.

- We understand this threat, so we will take all measures to protect Ukraine, - the officer assured.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 18/01/2023