 Nyora kupfuurira kweiyi ndima - Alelyukhin akapa kufukidzwa kwemhepo panguva yekugara kweSoviet yeBessarabia neNorthern Bukovina munaJune naJuly 1940, achiri ne69th Fighter Aviation Regiment. The regiment akanga akashongedzerwa Polikarpov I-16 varwi. Pana June 22, 1941, Germany yakapinda muSoviet Union muOperation Barbarossa. Bessarabia zvino yakanga iri pamutsetse wapamberi paAlelyukhin akarwa mukudzivirira Bessarabia. Kubvira pakuvamba kwaAugust, Alelyukhin akabhururuka nehurumende muKukombwa kweOdessa. Musi waSeptember 2, akakuvadzwa zvishoma nesipanji kumusana uye paruoko. Musi wa 8 Gunyana, Alelyukhin akagamuchira kukwidziridzwa kuva Lieutenant. Akapihwa Order yake yekutanga yeRed Banner musi wa5 Mbudzi. Munguva yechando, iyo regiment yakagamuchira Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 varwi. 