Russia Plans to Deploy New Anti-Ship Missiles on Kuril Islands

(Source: Kyodo News; published Sep. 02, 2019)

Russia is planning to deploy additional missile systems on two islands in the northern portion of the Kuril Islands chain off Japan's Hokkaido in a bid to strengthen its defense capabilities in the region, an internal Russian government document showed Monday.

The document, obtained by Kyodo News, revealed that new land-to-ship missile systems called the Bastion, with a range of more than 300 kilometers, would be deployed on Paramushir and Matua in the chain, which includes four Japan-claimed islands.

This Russian MoD video shows firings of Bastion long-range anti-ship missiles. These are the weapons that Russia intends to deploy on the Kuril Islands, according to Kyodo News.

The plan indicates Russia places strategic importance on the Kuril Islands in defending the Sea of Okhotsk and its nuclear force stronghold against the United States.

It also means a defense line stretching from the Kamchatka Peninsula to Hokkaido, which falls within the range of the missile defense systems, will be completed soon. (end of excerpt)

Click here for the full story, on the Kyodo News website.

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