US to unveil European missile defense system
The US’s European missile defense system will be officially declared operational on Thursday, despite Russia’s objections, Reuters reported.
The announcement will come almost a decade after Washington first proposed such a system.
US and NATO officials will gather in Deveselu, Romania for the inauguration of the missile defense site, the construction of which was finished in 2015.
Construction of a second site in Poland is slated to begin on May 13th, and is due to be completed in 2018.
Washington says that the missile systems are meant to defend against Iranian rockets, but Moscow insists that the installations were constructed for use against Russia.
The Kremlin has also stated that the missile defense systems will disrupt the regional strategic balance.
While the system was first proposed by then president George W. Bush in 2007, the unveiling of the installation in Poland comes as NATO prepares new defensive strategies against Russia following the annexation of Crimea and the hybrid war in eastern Ukraine.
Russia, in response, has further strengthened its military presence along its western border.