Skip to main content

MEDIA: US INTELLIGENCE BELIEVES THAT RUSSIA DEPLOYED ISKANDERS NEAR KALININGRAD



According to unnamed source in the US intelligence, the Iskander-M ballistic missile systems have been deployed by Russia in Kaliningrad region.


Photo: Sputnik / Alexei Danichev


The US believes that Russia deployed the Iskander-M ballistic missile systems in Kaliningrad region, the Reuters news agency reported on Saturday, citing a source in the US intelligence.

The source, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the reasons of deployment of the ballistic missile systems in Kaliningrad “could be innocuous.”


“They moved a similar missile system to Kaliningrad in 2014 for a military exercise. It could also be a political gesture – a show of strength – to express displeasure with NATO,” the US official told Reuters, commenting on the information, appeared in Estonian media earlier.

There still are no comments of the Russian side in connection with the statement.
Click to see the full-size image


According to the annual report ‘International Security and Estonia 2016’, published in March by the Estonian Information Department (also known as the Estonian Information System Authority), which deals with foreign intelligence, Estonian authorities fear the Iskander cruise missiles, deployed near Kaliningrad region and the borders with Estonia and Latvia. However, at the same time, the report noted that the use of tactical nuclear weapons against facilities, located in Estonia, or units of the NATO, stationed here, is unlikely.

Russia does not have any restrictions on deployment of the systems, but in any case it is necessary to analyze the military situation, Permanent Representative of Russia to the NATO, Alexander Grushko, said in late June, commenting on the possibility of deployment the Iskander missile systems in Kaliningrad. Meanwhile, Chief of Missile Forces and Artillery of the Russian Ground Forces, Major General Mikhail Matveevsky said in May 2015 that the missile brigade of the Russian Armed Forces, deployed in Kaliningrad region, as all other missile brigades, will be rearmed with the Iskander-M operational-tactical systems by 2018.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif