PRESS RELEASE
Russia To Counter NATO Ballistic Missile Installations with Missiles In Kaliningrad
Nov. 22, 2016 (EIRNS)—Senator Viktor Ozerov, chairman of the Federation Council’s Defense and Security Committee, told RIA Novosti yesterday that Russia will be targeting NATO’s Ballistic Missile Defense installations from the Kaliningrad exclave, wedged between Poland and Lithuania.
"One of the reasons why Russia opposed the deployment of the American ABM [anti-ballistic missile] system in Europe was the concern that this infrastructure may be quickly converted to deploy strike systems, in particular land-based cruise missiles. These concerns are being confirmed today,"
he said, reports RT.
The Romanian and Polish installations both employ the U.S. Navy Mk. 41 vertical launch system which, in its shipboard installation at least, is capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles as well as anti-aircraft and ant-missile missiles. Therefore, the Russians believe, the NATO installations are in violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and represent a direct threat to Russia.
"In response to that we will be forced to beef up our air and space defense system in that direction, deploy additional forces to defend our military facilities and command centers. This includes the deployment of S-400 and Iskander systems in Kaliningrad, and the formation of new units in the Western and Southern military districts,"
Ozerev said.
The Obama Administration, not surprisingly, is not reacting to Ozerev’s remarks exceptionally well.
"Russia has made threats to move its Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad for the past decade in response to a variety of developments in Europe, none of which demand such a military response,"
State Department spokesman John Kirby said, yesterday.
"We call on Russia to refrain from words or deeds that are inconsistent with the goal of promoting security and stability."
