By Vladimir V. Sytin
The Ukrainian Times
The Defense Ministry of Russia has deployed Bal and Bastion antiship missile complexes on Iturup and Kunashir Islands in the Kurils within the framework of planned rearmament. For instance, Bastion and Bal are outfitted with missiles capable of hitting targets at a distance of 500 and 300 kilometers respectively.
Also, the Defense Ministry is building about 400 military installations there. In addition, the defense infrastructure of the Kuril Islands will be fortified with the new generation drones Eleron-3.
According to Viktor Ozerov, chairman of a committee on defense and security under the Russian Federation Council, the number of warships of the Russia’s Pacific Navy will depend on the quality of relations with Japan and other countries in the Asian-Pacific region.
It should be mentioned that Japan is still in a de jure state of war with Russia because of the Kurils problem.
Readers of The Ukrainian Times know that the Southern Kurils are the integral part of Russia’s territory on a legal basis in accordance with the results of World War II. Japan, which was the ally of Nazi Germany during WWII, shall strictly respect relevant accords and the U.N. Charter. Like Germany, Japan must bear responsibility for war crimes not only towards Russia but all former Soviet republics, the anti-Hitlerite coalition and China in particular.
Finally, it is worth remembering that the Kurils were originally settled by the Russians in the 17th-18th centuries. Japan seized the southern islands and in 1875 obtained the entire chain. After WWII they were legally ceded to the Soviet Union, and the Japanese population was repatriated.
And so, did Japan not learn any lessons from its criminal alliance with Nazi Germany?
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