As military tensions rise between Russia and Japan in the Kuril Islands (called the Northern Territories in Japan), a disputed area between the two countries, Russia's Pacific Fleet conducted military drills near the Kuril coastal waters. Japan pushed back strongly, calling it "unacceptable."
According to Türkiye's state-run Anadolu Agency on the 21st, Russia's Pacific Fleet conducted a missile strike drill near the coastal waters of the Kuril Islands the previous day. The Pacific Fleet reportedly held the exercise under a scenario responding to a notional enemy fleet 300 kilometers away, with surface ships, a nuclear submarine and coastal missile units taking part.
Specifically, the guided-missile cruiser Varyag fired two Vulkan anti-ship missiles, and the nuclear submarine Omsk launched Granit cruise missiles in succession. On one of the Kuril Islands, the Bastion coastal defense missile system fired Oniks anti-ship missiles. The Pacific Fleet said, "All targets were successfully hit."
The drill was said to be part of routine combat training. However, with the Russia-Japan dispute intensifying after Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the Kuril Islands (four islands), the fact that military exercises were conducted near the Kurils raises the possibility that tensions between the two countries will further escalate.
On the 13th, President Putin visited Iturup (Etorofu in Japanese), one of the four disputed islands in the Kurils, and inspected a seafood processing plant, a hospital and a school. The Varyag, which took part in this drill, is also the warship on which Putin inspected and was briefed on military training plans at the time.
The Kuril Islands have been effectively controlled since 1945, when the Soviet Union, Russia's predecessor, occupied the area at the end of World War II. Its population is only 20,000, but the region is rich in mineral resources such as gold and silver and in fisheries resources in the surrounding waters.
Japan Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi immediately pushed back, saying the missile drill was unacceptable. Visiting Oman, he told reporters, "Military buildup on the 'four Northern Territories' goes against our country's position and is unacceptable." Earlier, Japan considered steps to increase the intensity of sanctions on Russia after President Putin's visit to the Kurils.
Kyodo News analyzed the missile launches as "an attempt to flaunt de facto control over the 'Northern Territories,'" adding, "With the Japanese government lodging protests after President Putin's visit to the area and confrontation between the two countries deepening, there appears to be an intent to intimidate and check the Takaichi government."