The Russian military has deployed coastal defense missile systems near the Kuril Islands, a Pacific chain also claimed by Japan.
In this handout photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, A Bastion missile launcher is positioned on the Matua Island, part of the Kurils Islands chain, in Russia, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. The Russian military has deployed the Bastion coastal defense missile systems on the Matua Island, which is close to several islands also claimed by Japan, a move intended to underline Moscow's firm stance in the dispute.
Russia's Defense Ministry posted a video Thursday showing massive missile carriers moving ashore from amphibious landing vessels and driving along the coast of the volcanic island to take firing positions as part of drills. In 2016, it stationed the Bal and the Bastion coastal defense missile systems on two of the four southernmost Kuril Islands. In the following years, it followed up by sending top-of-the-line air defense missiles systems there and setting up an air base on the Iturup Island where fighter jets were deployed.
The oval-shaped, 11-kilometer-long island where the Russian missiles were deployed hosted a Japanese military base during WWII. After the Soviet takeover of the Kuril Islands, Matua was home to a Soviet military base that was closed amid funding shortages in the wake of the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
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