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Friday, 29.03.2024, 06:00
Russian DefMin confirms deployment of Iskander missile systems to Kaliningrad
The Russian military did not make a big secret of transporting
Iskander missile systems on board the Ambal bulker to the Kaliningrad
region so as to clarify the parameters of a U.S.
reconnaissance satellite's operations, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
"By the way, nobody made a big secret out of the system's transportation on board the Ambal bulker. I'll tell you more: one Iskander was deliberately exposed even before being loaded onto the Ambal when a U.S. reconnaissance satellite was flying over to specify the parameters of this spacecraft operation," the spokesman said.
"We didn't have to wait long: our U.S. partners confirmed everything themselves in their whistle-blowing impulse," he said.
The Defense Ministry spokesman dismissed Western concerns over the missile systems, saying that "contingents of missile troops have been moved many times and will continue to be moved to Kaliningrad region as part of a Russian armed forces training plan."
Kaliningrad is "not an exception" to drills conducted across the country, he said.
Estonia's public broadcaster ERR reported on Friday that Russia's Baltic Fleet was under the cover of a logistics training moving Iskanders from Ust-Luga to Kaliningrad on a civilian vessel.According to an unnamed source, the vessel used for shipping the missile system was the Ambal and it was expected to reach Kaliningrad on Friday.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said on Saturday that Russia was deploying nuclear-capable Iskander missiles to its Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad in order to pressure the West into making concessions over Syria and Ukraine.
According to NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu, any deployment of nuclear-capable missiles close to the alliance's borders wouldn't help lower tensions.