Russia deploys air defence from Kuril Islands to Ukraine's border – media

Russia has taken away anti-aircraft missile defence systems from the Kuril Islands, which have been stationed there since 2020; they have probably been transferred for use in the war against Ukraine.

Source: Kyodo News, citing satellite images of the American company Maxar Technologies

Details: The disappearance of air defence systems was noticed by military expert Yū Koizumi from the University of Tokyo. He also expressed confidence that the Russian military had taken old tanks and artillery from the Kuril Islands. According to him, the weapons stored at the military facility on Sakhalin will be sent to the front in Ukraine.

As for air defence, Koizumi notes that it is about the S-300B4 systems. They were placed in Kasat Bay and near Yuzhno-Kurilsk.

Last September, numerous transporters carrying S-300B4 missiles, radars and other equipment were spotted at both military stations.

Koizumi believes that troops from the Far East are also being transferred to Ukraine. According to the military expert, the elite marine brigade based in Vladivostok suffered heavy casualties in the fighting, and some residents of Iturup and Kunashir islands have died after being mobilised.

Quote: "The Russian military is deploying all the weapons at their disposal, which indicates their active participation in the conflict."

For reference: Iturup and Kunashir are among the four disputed islands that are called by Japan its northern territories and claimed by Russia, which calls them the Southern Kuriles.

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