US accuses Russia of deploying land-based cruise missiles

[Boats]

US accuses Russia of deploying land-based cruise missiles
Date: Thursday, March 9, 2017 1232 PM
RE: http://uawire.org/news/us-accuses-ru...ruise-missiles

Russia deployed land-based cruise missiles in its own territory in violation of the “spirit and intent” of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed by US President Ronald Reagan and USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987 in Washington.

General Paul Selva, Vice Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a statement to this effect on Wednesday the 8th of March, as reported by Reuters.

Reuters noted that the General’s statement was the first official confirmation from the American military about Russia's deployment of the missiles.

“The system itself presents a risk to most of our facilities in Europe and we believe that the Russians have deliberately deployed it in order to pose a threat to NATO and to facilities within the NATO area of responsibility,” the general said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing.

On the 14th of February, the New York Times reported with reference to a source in the US administration that Russia had deployed cruise missiles in its own territory, in violation of the INF Treaty. Russia has two battalions of “prohibited” cruise missiles, American officials told the publication.

One battalion was moved in December 2016 to an operational military base in Russian territory, another is being tested at the Kapustin Yar test site in the Astrakhan region. Each missile battalion contains four mobile launchers and several missiles, The New York Times noted.

Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary to the President of Russia, said that Russia intends, as before, to fulfill its international obligations, including those related to the INF Treaty.

“No one has officially accused Russia of violating the INF Treaty. You mentioned some completely anonymized information. Without a doubt, Russia has remained and will remain committed to its international obligations, including the treaty you mentioned,” Peskov told journalists.

NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said that the intermediate-range missiles deployed by Russia are a source of concern for NATO. “The INF treaty is very important, because the INF Treaty eliminated a whole category of nuclear weapons, weapons which could threaten Europe and NATO,” Stoltenberg added.

The INF Treaty was signed in 1987. According to it, the treaty nations (USSR/Russia and USA) are prohibited from producing, testing and deploying land-based ballistic and cruise missiles of intermediate (1000 to 5500 km) and short (500 to 1000 km) ranges.

USA, Russia, Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, nuclear weapons

[Boats]

Russian Army will soon add a new long-range anti-aircraft missile to its arsenal
Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 648 PM
RE: http://uawire.org/news/russian-army-...to-its-arsenal

Tests of a new anti-aircraft, guided, long-range missile are underway in Russia, and that it should soon go into service. This was stated by Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, TASS reported.

"We will also consider how state tests of a long-range guided missile are going," Shoygu said on Russia-24 TV. While speaking about the new long-range missile, as well as the anti-aircraft missile artillery complex for the frigates of the 22350 Project, the Minister noted that "the implementation of these two projects will allow us to create weapons with unique combat capabilities."

Ukrainian analytical group InformNapalm reported that Russian S-300VM "Antey-2500" anti-ballistic missile system were spotted in the Crimea. The group states that the appearance of the missile systems in the Crimea is linked to the scheduled missiles tests by Ukraine near the peninsula.

The systems were transported along one of the Crimean intercity freeways and were headed to an unknown destination.

The S-300VM "Antey-2500" missile system is intended to strike tactical, theater and medium …

The Head of the Russian Federal Agency for CIS Countries and International Humanitarian Cooperation, Konstanin Kosachev, warned Ukraine over conducting the missile tests in “Russian airspace”.

“If it comes to the point that we have to use military response, this will, of course, be a most horrible and unpleasant scenario, which all of us have to prevent,“ Kosachev stated at the International Conference of Scientific Research Centers entitled “Crisis of world order, not only a Russian problem .”

Kosachev stated that there have been no public statements from the western partners of Ukraine which could prevent Ukraine from taking this step. “The circumstances are such that the desire to support your friends leads to the escalation of the conflict,” the politician said.

“Eight years ago the leader of another country which was in conflict with Russia, I mean Georgia, decided to test our armed forces. And we all know how it ended. I hope Ukrainian officials remember it,” he said.

Previously, the Russian Defense Ministry submitted a note of protest to the Ukrainian Defense Attaché over Ukraine’s plans to conduct missile tests near the Crimea.

The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, recently stated that Kyiv was not planning on conducting missile tests in the Kerch Strait, noting that Russian airspace in the Black Sea ends in the middle of the strait.

"All the rest of the territory to the west of the Kerch Strait is the sovereign airspace of Ukraine", Turchynov emphasized, adding that Ukraine carries out missile tests within the legal boundaries of international commitments and agreements.

Ukraine is planning to conduct the missile tests on December 1-2.