Russia moves nuclear-capable missiles closer to EU

[Vikrant]

MOSCOW: Russia revealed on Monday that its armed forces had moved nuclear-capable Iskander missiles closer to Europe's borders in response to the US-led deployment of a disputed air defence shield.
The advanced version of the Russian missile has a range of 500 kilometres (310 miles) and could potentially be used to take out ground-based radar and interceptors of the new Nato shield.

The announcement prompted fears in the US and neighbouring states such as Poland.

"We've urged Russia to take no steps to destabilize the region," state department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said in response, adding the US had also passed on to Moscow its neighbours' concerns.

Those concerns were voiced earlier on Monday.

Poland's foreign ministry called the planned missile movement "disturbing".

"This is a matter for Nato and we can expect possible consultations and action (...) at the Nato and EU level," added the ministry in a statement.

Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia called the news "alarming".

Latvia's Defence Minister Artis Pabriks, quoted by the Baltic News Service (BNS), said: "It is clear that it is alarming news as it is one of the arguments changing balance of powers in our region."

He added "several Baltic cities" were threatened by the move.

Germany's Bild newspaper first reported over the weekend that Russia had deployed about 10 Iskander systems in its Kaliningrad exclave -- wedged between Poland and Lithuania -- at some point in the past year.

A top Russian defence official said in response to the report that several Iskander batteries had been stationed in Russia's Western Military District -- a region that includes the exclave and also borders the European Union's three Baltic nations that were once a part of the USSR.

"Iskander operational-tactical missile systems have indeed been commissioned by the Western Military District's missile and artillery forces," Russian news agencies quoted defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying.

He added that Russia's deployment "does not violate any international treaties or agreements" and should therefore not be subject to protests from the West.

The Kremlin warned in 2011 that it could station the short- and medium-range ballistic missiles along the European Union's eastern frontier in response to Nato's missile defence programme.

Both the United States and the Western military alliance have argued that the shield is not aimed at Russia but is designed to protect the West from potential threats from so-called "rogue states".

But Moscow fears the system -- whose components include missile-positioning satellites -- may one day be turned into an offensive weapon that targets Russian soil.

The Kremlin also believes the shield could in the future be expanded to a point that makes Russia's own vast nuclear arsenal ineffective.

'Highly political' decision
A report prepared by the US-based Stratfor global intelligence consultancy and published by the WikiLeaks website said most Iskander missiles had previously been stationed in Siberia and the volatile North Caucasus region.

Stratfor added that the long-mooted but never-before implemented "Kaliningrad decision is highly political, since (the Iskander) could reach into Germany or take out any American (ballistic missile defence) system".

The advanced version of the missile -- known as the Iskander-M -- was one of Russia's first major post-Soviet weapons and is now among its most prized military exports.

"The Iskander is a type of weapon that could influence the military and political situations in certain regions of the world," Russia's state-owned ITAR-TASS news agency wrote.

But military analysts said cash constraints have prevented the armed forces from deploying as many Iskander systems as originally hoped.

Stratfor estimated that only 60 Iskanders will have been "produced and implemented" by 2015 -- far too few to pose a serious threat to the West.

The analysts added that the Kremlin appears to be trying to use the threat of a potential attack to influence public opinion in nations such as Poland against the NATO defence shield.

"What they are doing resembles a propaganda campaign," said military affairs writer Pavel Felgenhauer.

"They hope that the Poles will get frightened and come out against the deployment of US rockets," he said.

But Alexander Konovalov of Moscow's Institute Strategic Assessment said the decision to deploy Iskanders closer to EU borders could leave Russia exposed in far more dangerous regions along its southern and eastern flanks.

"If they move all the Iskanders to the west, there will not be enough left to protect our southern and eastern borders, where they are really needed," Konovalov said.

Russia moves nuclear-capable missiles closer to EU - The Times of India

 

[Katzndogz]

This is what the world looks like post America.

 

[Vikrant]

This is what the world looks like post America.

What do you mean by post America?

 

[Mr. H.]

This is what the world looks like post America.

What do you mean by post America?

Post- 2008.

 

[waltky]

Russia gettin' ready for nuclear war...

Russia, anticipating 'unfriendly' U.S. steps, almost certain to go on nuclear war with America
Thursday 13th October, 2016 - Worsening diplomatic ties fuelled by piling "miscalculations" and "frozen" channels of communication are pushing the U.S. and Russia closer to the brink of war, with experts fearing the imminent use of nuclear arsenal and the devastating impact for the world at large.

After the latest U.S. salvo accusing Russia of hacking computer systems to tamper with the American election campaign and the democracy itself, political analysts feel that the relations between the two nations have found its lowest level since the fall of the Berlin Wall. "The quality of relations between us is certainly at the lowest point since the Cold War...The risk of miscalculations has increased," Russia's ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak has said. Kislyak said "normal channels of communication are frozen" between the U.S. and Russia. "We see the United States taking unfriendly steps toward Russia including sanctions, there are calls for isolating Russia," he said, adding, “It doesn't work with Russia and it's not going to work.”

Moscow has hastily abandoned a nuclear security pact, citing aggression from Washington, and moved the nuclear-capable Iskandar missiles to the edge of NATO territory in Europe, raising suspicion of the possible use of nuclear weapons if a war breaks out. In fact, earlier this month, the Russian government launched a mammoth civil defence training exercise involving million of civilians to ensure the country's preparedness in the event of a nuclear, chemical and biological attack. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned of "aggressive anti-Russia tendencies at the basis of the U.S. policy on Russia,” and said the NATO deployments, infrastructure and missile placement were examples of "aggressive steps that have a direct bearing on our national interests and can affect our national security.”

Lavrov's counterpart and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has even called for a war crimes probe into Russia's military actions in Syria, which America has time and again disapproved of. On October 3, the U.S. suspended dialogue with Russia on bringing an end to the war in Syria. "They're not getting away with it for free," Kerry had recently said, referring to the alleged hacks on U.S. election systems and political parties.

Meanwhile, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has expressed grave concern at the current state of U.S.-Russia ties, saying it left the world on a “dangerous threshold” and the threat of nuclear warfare remains strong. “I think the world has approached a dangerous threshold. I would prefer not to suggest any particular schemes, but I want to say: we need to stop,” he said in an interview. Gorbachev said “dialogue should be resumed” between nations, in the wake of a prolonged period of high tension over the Syrian conflict and Russia’s interests in the Baltic states. “Stopping the dialogue has been the biggest mistake. Now we must return to the main priorities, such as nuclear disarmament, fighting terrorism and prevention of global environmental disasters. Compared to these challenges everything else is a second priority," he said.

Russia anticipating unfriendly US steps almost certain to go on nuclear war with America

See also:

Russia moving nuclear-capable missiles into Kaliningrad, says Estonia
Friday 7 October 2016 - Reports of Iskander-M missiles being moved to outpost between Poland and Lithuania fuels fears that Russia is seeking to expand control of Baltic Sea

Estonian officials have said that Russia appears to be moving powerful, nuclear capable missiles into Kaliningrad, a Russian outpost province sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic coast. The Iskander-M missiles, which have a range of over 500km, are reportedly being transported by ship from the St Petersburg area. It had previously been reported that the Russians might seek to place the Iskander-M missiles in Kaliningrad but not until 2018-19. If confirmed, the move would be seen by western governments as another sign that Russia is seeking to establish facts on the ground, from eastern Europe to the Middle East, before a new US president takes office in January.

Estonian officials said they were monitoring the ship and its contents. The ship, called the Ambal, was due to dock on Friday; reports of the cargo came from Estonian government sources. An Estonian defence expert said: “This weapon is highly sophisticated and there is no comparable weapon in western armoury. It can carry nuclear weapons, change direction mid-flight and fly distances of up to 500km. As such it is capable of threatening Poland, including the US missile defence installations there. You would not change the date of the delivery of a system such as this on a whim. The intention is to make a strong strategic point.”

The Russians already have a missile brigade on Kaliningrad, but the OTR-21 Tochka short-range missile is less sophisticated, and not capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The Iskander-M, the Persian name for Alexander the Great, is a ballistic rocket system designed to destroy strategic targets, and its stationing is arguably in breach of the intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty. Marko Mihkelson, the chairman of the Estonian parliament’s national defence committee, told Estonian news agency ERR on Friday that since the transportation of the system was now taking place with the help of a civilian vessel, he had reason to think that Russia was trying to take the missiles to Kaliningrad in secret.

Mihkelson added that what was going on was part of a broader security situation, and that it was Russia’s intent to provoke western governments and increase pressure on them. On Monday Russia cancelled its weapon-grade plutonium disposal agreement with the US. “In any case, what is called for now is to remain calm, and to treat these incidents as attempted blackmail,” Mihkelson said. “Russia is simply showing its desire to reinforce its position at the entrance to the Baltic Sea.” The chief of staff of the Estonian defence forces, Lt Gen Riho Terras, said Russia’s recent actions show the country’s wish to expand its control of the Baltic Sea. “In the long term Russia’s wish is to bring the Baltic Sea and the passages leading to it more and more under its control, and to control it much like it does the Black Sea,” Terras said to ERR on Friday.

MORE

 

[B. Kidd]

Putin has every right and is smart doing this since NATO is on his borders. Russia hasn't bought into the globalist bullshit; and no soverign nation should.

 

[Vikrant]

^ I do not think it should called a globalist agenda. At its core, you have secular Jews and hardliner Christians. At its periphery, it has Sunni power brokers. China has played a clever game of conning these so called globalists and has extracted some major benefit for the Chinese government. Now China has joined Russia in opposing these "globalists" as is seen from Chinese deployment in Syria. They should not be called globalists. I think they are imperialist.

 

[montelatici]

Russia is surrounded by military threats. What should they do? If there were Russian bases in Canada and Mexico, what would we do? Europe's economic well-being is best achieved by establishing good economic and political relations with Russia. Russia has the natural resources the EU needs and the EU has the advanced technology Russia needs. Good relations between Russia and the EU is not in the interest of the US. Just a neutral observation.