Russia deploying ballistic missiles to Baltic enclave

pulse

February 5, 2018 4:02 PM

Speaking to reporters, Grybauskaite warned that the deployment ?n the Russian region bordering Baltic NATO members Poland and Lithuania posed a danger for "half" of Europe's capitals.

Lithuania on Monday accused Russia of deploying nuclear-capable ballistic missiles to its Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic, as relations between Moscow and the West sink to post-Cold War lows.

Russia has previously sent Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad for drills, but Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said that this time they were being deployed for a "permanent presence".

Moscow was reported to have deployed Iskander missiles for exercises in its Kaliningrad exclave in 2016, rattling nearby NATO members.

Lithuanian intelligence agencies said in a recent report that a permanent, nuclear-capable Iskander deployment was "inevitable", adding that Moscow will likely "present it as a response to NATO actions".

Last year, NATO deployed four multinational battalions to Poland and the Baltic states as tripwires against possible Russian adventurism, while the US military sent a Patriot battery to Lithuania for drills.

US Vice President Mike Pence in July also raised the possibility of deploying the Patriot anti-missile defence system in nearby Estonia.

The Baltic states hope NATO will agree on additional air defence capabilities for the region during a Brussels summit in July.

The United States is meanwhile in the process of selling nearby Poland a Patriot anti-missile system, a move likely to irk Russia.

The State Department said in November that it had notified Congress of its approval of the deal, worth up to $10.5 billion (8.4 billion euros), marking the first time Poland has bought the sophisticated system.

The Patriot is a mobile air-defence system designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, low-flying cruise missiles and aircraft.

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