Grybauskaitė: Russian transfer of Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad aggressive display
In transporting an Iskander missile system to Kaliningrad, Russia aggressively displayed its might to all of Europe, said Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė on Tuesday afternoon.
"Knowing that Iskanders are not defense but attack weapons, this means an aggressive public display of power and aggression not only against the Baltics but against the capitals of Europe," Reuters reported Grybauskaitė as saying at a Tuesday press conference following her meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.
In early October, Russia transported an Iskander-M missile system to Kaliningrad, referring to the move as part of a logistics exercise.
A high-ranking US intelligence officer has also referred to the move as a political gesture and display of power.
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has dismissed the West's concerns regarding the relocation of the Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad as unfounded and has likewised announced that missile units have repeatedly been transferred to Kaliningrad in the framework of Russian forces' training programs and that this practice would continue.
Iskander-M is a ballistic rocket system designed to destroy strategic targets within a distance of 500 to 700 kilometers.
Positioned in Kaliningrad Oblast, Iskander missiles would provide Russian military forces with the capabilities to hit strategic targets — including airports, harbors, railway junctions and command centers — from Southern Poland to Central Finland.
Editor: Editor: Aili Vahtla