Latvia bans a Russian TV station for broadcasting Ukraine war
After less than five months on the air, TV Rain, Russia's last...
The northern Kuril island, which is a part of a strategically placed chain of islands that stretches between Japan and the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula, has mobile coastal defense missile systems deployed, according to the Russian defense ministry on Monday.
In a dispute over territory that dates back to the end of World War Two, when Soviet troops took control of the southern Kuril islands from Japan, Japan asserts sovereignty over what Tokyo refers to as the Northern Territories.
The island of Paramushir is now home to Russian Bastion systems, which are equipped with missiles with a maximum range of 500 kilometers (310 miles).
“Coastal servicemen of the Pacific Fleet will keep a round-the-clock watch to control the adjacent water area and strait zones,” it said.
According to the government, a military camp has been established on Paramushir with amenities for year-round service, lodging, entertainment, and food for servicemen.
According to a statement from the ministry, this deployment comes a year after Russia installed the Bastion systems on the island of Matua in the Kuril Ridge’s middle.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno stated that the government will closely monitor Russian military activity, noting that it has been escalating in the region’s far east in tandem with Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Invasion is described as a “special operation” by Russia.
The Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a September report that overshadowed by the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow’s militarization of the Kuril Islands “has flown largely under the radar.”
“Russia’s steps to boost its presence suggest that the islands will continue to play a pernicious role in the future of Russo-Japanese relations and that Japan and the United States should deepen consultations regarding Russia’s activities in the region,” according to the report, published on the center’s website.
Japan has joined its Western allies in applying economic sanctions on Russia after it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in what Moscow calls a “special military operation.” Ukraine and its allies say Russia launched an unprovoked war.
Due to Japanese sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia halted cooperation economic initiatives and withdrew from peace treaty negotiations with Japan.
Catch all the Business News, Breaking News Event and Latest News Updates on The BOL News
Download The BOL News App to get the Daily News Update & Live News.