Russia Deploys New Missiles to the Baltic Sea Region

Russia will deploy its S-400 air missile defence system and ballistic Iskander missile in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad – which is sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic Coast.

The Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet has deployed batteries of the 3K60 Bal (SSC-6 “Sennight”) and the K300P Bastion-P (SSC-5 “Stooge”) coastal defence systems to the disputed Kuril Islands in the Pacific Ocean, the fleet’s newspaper, Boyevaya Vakhta, was quoted by Russia’s RT television network as saying.

“Why do we react so sharply to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation enlargement?”

“What should we do?”

“We have to take countermeasures, targeting the facilities that we perceive as a threat with our missile systems”, Putin said.

The defence ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Ozerov’s remarks.

The lineup of measures to be taken by Japan in promoting economic cooperation – a pump-priming overture aimed at achieving a breakthrough in the territorial issue – is nearing completion.

The Kremlin on Tuesday brushed off Western criticism of the deployment of state-of-the art missiles in Russia’s Baltic Sea region, describing it as an equivalent response to NATO’s military buildup near its borders.

After his brief conversation with Obama, Putin told reporters he has spoken with President-elect Donald Trump about improving relations with the U.S. Putin said Trump “reaffirmed his intent to normalize relations with Russian Federation”, adding, “I naturally said the same”.

Victor Kuzminkov, a senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in an interview on Monday that it is hard to imagine that Russia will concede sovereignty over the islands, called the northern territories in Japan. In Picture: US soldiers stand next to a Patriot surface-to-air missile battery at an army base in Morag May 26, 2010. “This reinforcement includes deployment of S-400 and Iskander systems in Kaliningrad”, Ozerov said.

Kremlin’s decision comes ahead of the President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January.

While on the campaign trail in July, Trump told The New York Times: “If we are not going to be reasonably reimbursed for the tremendous cost of protecting these massive nations with tremendous wealth …” He has also suggested he would not defend other alliance members unless they paid a fair share for their defences.

The S-400 air missile defence system and Iskander missiles were installed in Kaliningrad exclave, bordering Poland and Lithuania, to counter the potential threat from USA cruise missiles.

Apart from Sweden, Poland too has voiced its concern.