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Kyodo

Russia’s Pacific Fleet said on Thursday it has conducted a missile test off a group of Russian-held, Japanese-claimed islands amid an intensifying row over the disputed territory following President Vladimir Putin’s first-ever visit there last week.
While it was unclear exactly when the test was carried out, the announcement comes after the Russian foreign ministry summoned Japanese Ambassador to Russia Akira Muto over Japan’s protest against Putin’s trip to the area.
Putin visited Etorofu Island, the largest of the four islands collectively called the Northern Territories by Japan and the Southern Kurils by Russia, on August 13.
The naval fleet said a unit equipped with the Bastion surface-to-ship missile system conducted the test. The system is deployed to Etorofu.
The guided missile cruiser Varyag, the flagship of the Pacific Fleet, also took part in the missile test along with the Omsk nuclear-powered submarine, the fleet said.


The test simulated an attack on enemy vessels and succeeded in hitting all the intended targets at a range of at least 300km (186 miles), according to the fleet.
“We cannot tolerate moves [by Russia] to strengthen military power on the four Northern Islands because they go against our country’s stance [on the territories],” Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters during his visit to Oman.
A senior foreign ministry official revealed on Friday that Japan had lodged a protest with Russia shortly after Moscow notified Tokyo that it would conduct the missile exercise during the week beginning last Sunday.
Japan says the islands, which also include Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group, were illegally seized by the Soviet Union soon after Japan’s surrender in World War II on August 15, 1945. Russia maintains the action was legitimate, saying the islands became part of its territory as a result of the war.
Ties between Japan and Russia have been strained since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which prompted Japan and its Group of Seven peers to impose sanctions on Moscow.


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Russia

Russia tests missiles near Japanese-claimed islands after Putin’s visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin tries caviar during his visit to a fish processing complex on the Southern Kuril Island of Iturup on August 13. Photo: Sputnik via Reuters

Will Putin’s Kuril Islands visit push Japan closer to Ukraine?

Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (right) and his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga pose after a signing ceremony in Tokyo on July 1. Photo: AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko (right) at an airport on Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands, last Thursday. Photo: Sputnik/Kremlin/AP

Akira Muto, Japan’s ambassador to Russia, arrives at the foreign ministry in Moscow on Tuesday after being summoned over Japanese officials’ criticism of Putin’s Kuril Islands visit. Photo: AFP

A drone view shows vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam in Oman on June 15. Photo: Reuters

Vladimir Putin oversees the final stage of naval drills off far eastern Sakhalin Island near Japan from onboard a Russian guided missile on August 12. Photo: AFP

Subaru brand cars prepared for export are seen parked at Kawasaki Port in Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture on Monday. Photo: AFP

An LNG tanker ship is seen moored at a terminal in Japan’s Chiba prefecture on July 22. Japan imports roughly 9 per cent of its LNG from Russia. Photo: AFP

Russia’s Putin makes first visit to Kuril Islands claimed by Japan

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin oversees the final stage of the Pacific Fleet’s naval drills from on board a Russian Navy ship off the far eastern Sakhalin Island on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Russia’s President Putin talks to the crew as he visits the Russian Navy’s guided missile cruiser Varyag during the final stage of the Pacific Fleet’s naval drills on the far eastern Sakhalin Island on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Russia’s President Putin holds a meeting on ensuring the security of Russia’s eastern borders on board the Russian Navy’s guided missile cruiser Varyag on the far eastern Sakhalin Island on Thursday. Photo: AFP

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East Asia

The Pacific Fleet fired Bastion missiles near the disputed Kurils, escalating territorial tensions between Moscow and Tokyo


The Pacific Fleet fired Bastion missiles near the disputed Kurils, escalating territorial tensions between Moscow and Tokyo.


Japan

Vladimir Putin

Russia tests missiles near Japanese-claimed islands after Putin’s visit

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Pacific Fleet fired Bastion missiles near the disputed Kurils, escalating territorial tensions between Moscow and Tokyo

The Pacific Fleet fired Bastion missiles near the disputed Kurils, escalating territorial tensions between Moscow and Tokyo