Media: Russia may deploy nuclear-capable missiles to Kaliningrad by 2019
Russia may deploy additional nuclear-capable missiles to its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad by 2019 in response to the US’s missile shield in Eastern Europe, Reuters reported, citing sources close to the Russian military.
The sources also noted that such missile installations may be put in the Crimea as well.
According to Mikhail Barabanov, a senior research fellow at the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), which advises the Russian Ministry of Defense, said that it now looks like Moscow will deploy the Iskander missile system to Kaliningrad in 2019.
“By all accounts, the deployment of the Iskanders in Kaliningrad Region is now inevitable," Barabanov told Reuters.
The long-range missiles would replace the short-range Tochka-U systems that are currently stationed in the Baltic exclave.
The Iskander is a mobile system that can launch two guided missiles up to 500 kilometers (300 miles).
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu says Moscow has the right to deploy Iskander systems anywhere on its territory.