Moscow moves nuclear-capable missiles west
RUSSIA has moved missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads near the Polish border, its defence ministry confirmed yesterday.
The deployment to Kaliningrad, a coastal enclave nestled between Poland and Lithuania, prompted alarm from Poland, while Linas Linkevicius, Lithuania’s foreign minister, said it was an effort to “seek concessions from the West” over the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.
The Iskander missiles have a range of 450 miles, meaning they could reach Berlin.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s foreign minister, warned that tensions between Russia and the West were “more dangerous” today than during the Cold War.
MOSCOW has moved nuclear-capable missiles near the Polish border, its defence ministry confirmed yesterday, as Germany’s foreign minister warned that tensions between Russia and the West are “more dangerous” today than during the Cold War.
Russia sent missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons into Kaliningrad, a Russian coastal enclave nestled between Poland and Lithuania.
Linas Linkevicius, Lithuania’s foreign minister, said the deployment was an effort to “seek concessions from the West” over the conflicts in both Syria and Ukraine, while Poland said Russia’s behaviour was “very alarming”.
The Iskander missiles have a range of 450 miles, meaning they could hit Berlin if launched from Kaliningrad.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, said he was watching the collapsing relations between the West and Russia with dismay. “It’s a fallacy to think that this is like the Cold War. The current times are different and more dangerous,” Mr Steinmeier told Bild newspaper.
His sentiments were echoed by Wolfgang Ischinger, a German official who served as a mediator for Ukraine, who told the newspaper there was “considerable danger of a military confrontation” between Russia and the West.
“This danger has not been as strong in decades and the confidence between West and East has never been so low,” he said.
Russia said the missile deployment was part of a routine drill that it was carrying out across the country. “These missile units have been deployed more than once (in the Kaliningrad region) ... and will be deployed as part of military training of the Russian armed forces,” ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
Moscow also sent Iskanders to Kaliningrad in 2015 as part of a series of military drills amid heightened tensions with the West over Ukraine.
The missile deployment was confirmed as Russia and the US prepared to clash at the UN over Syria.
The countries have been trading insults since the collapse of a ceasefire in Syria last month, and their argument was due to spill over onto the floor of the UN Security council last night in the form of rival resolutions over Aleppo.
The US has backed a French resolution demanding Russian and the Syrian regime cease their aerial bombardment of the city, which Russia was almost certain to veto. Russia offered a resolution of its own, which allowed for the bombardment to continue, and was opposed by the US, Britain and France. As diplomatic tensions continued at the UN, the Syrian regime continued to advance street by street in Aleppo. Bashar al-Assad’s troops, backed by fighters from Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, pushed back rebel and jihadist forces in the north and the centre of the city.
At least 305 civilians have been killed in rebel-held areas since Mr Assad’s forces began its ground offensive in late September, backed by Russian and regime aircraft.
The Russian defence ministry said yesterday that one of its helicopters had been shot at with a shoulderlaunched anti-aircraft missile fired by militants from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). The helicopter escaped unscathed.
Russian intelligence indicated that the fighters in Syria had received the missiles from Iraq. If confirmed, the incident represents a potentially alarming escalation in Isil’s weaponry.