Days After Putin’s First Visit, Russia Fires Missiles Near Islands Claimed by Japan

Russia has carried out rare missile drills involving naval vessels and a ground-based launcher near the disputed southern Kuril Islands, adding to already heightened tensions with Japan, Bloomberg reported on August 21.

Russia’s Pacific Fleet said missiles were launched from a nuclear-powered submarine, a missile cruiser, and a Bastion coastal defense system operating in the area of the southern Kurils. The fleet did not specify when the exercises took place.

According to the Russian military, the missiles were fired at targets located more than 300 kilometers, or about 186 miles, away and successfully struck them.

The Pacific Fleet did not disclose the exact location of the drills. Russia has, however, deployed Bastion coastal defense batteries on Iturup, known in Japan as Etorofu, since 2016.

The exercises drew a sharp reaction from Tokyo.

“Russia’s military buildup on the four Northern Islands runs counter to Japan’s position and is unacceptable,” Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters.

The southern Kuril Islands have remained under Russian control since Soviet forces seized them from Japan in the final days of World War II. Tokyo continues to claim Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and the Habomai islets, collectively referring to them as the Northern Territories.

The missile drills came only days after Russian leader Vladimir Putin made his first visit to the disputed territory, traveling to Iturup last week. Japan formally protested that visit as well.

The long-running territorial dispute has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a formal peace treaty since World War II.

The latest military activity also comes as Japan continues to support Ukraine against Russia’s war of aggression, including through sanctions on Moscow.

Tokyo has also provided Ukraine with non-lethal military assistance, including body armor and vehicles.

During his recent visit to Russia’s Far East, Putin accused Japan of changing its approach toward Moscow without provocation. He criticized Japanese sanctions and pointed to defense documents in which Tokyo identifies Russia as a serious security threat.

The combination of Putin’s first visit to Iturup and the missile drills has added fresh pressure to one of the longest-running territorial disputes in East Asia, with Moscow now visibly demonstrating strike capabilities near islands Japan still considers its own.

Previously, Russia sent four missile-armed warships near Japan, with the vessels passing about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Hokkaido a day after Putin visited Iturup, one of the disputed Kuril Islands claimed by Japan.

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