Nuclear missiles deployed in Russia’s westernmost area as fears grow over Syria

Last Updated: October 8, 2016By
The Iskander system could reach the German capital, Berlin [Image: EPA].

The Iskander system could reach the German capital, Berlin [Image: EPA].

How safe do you feel?

Nobody can claim the moral high ground in the sabre-rattling going on across eastern Europe.

I seem to recall Mikhail Gorbachev, or possibly Boris Yeltsin, receiving a promise from Nato that it would not expand into the newly-independent countries following the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Then he woke up one morning and Nato was sitting on his western border. How would we have felt if the roles were reversed?

Now we have Russia deploying missiles that could reach Berlin, possibly in response to Nato deploying troops in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which is allegedly in response to Russia’s annexation of the Crimea.

And on it goes. And we all become a little more nervous every day. And that makes us a little more twitchy, and prone to jump to conclusions, and likely to make mistakes.

Look at Syria. Here‘s just one interpretation of the threat to world peace represented by the military situation in that country.

Everybody concerned needs to step back.

They all need to have a serious think – and maybe a couple of conversations – about what little they stand to gain by acting on accusations and suppositions.

And how much we all stand to lose.

Russia has deployed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in its western-most region, Kaliningrad, which borders on Nato members Poland and Lithuania.

Poland said the development was of the “highest concern”, adding it was monitoring the situation.

Russia’s defence ministry said the new deployment was part of military exercises and had happened before.

The US and Nato have seen disagreements with Russia intensify in recent times, particularly over Syria and Ukraine.

Kaliningrad is a Russian enclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.

A US intelligence official told Reuters the move could be to express displeasure at Nato. Nato is boosting its eastern flank by deploying four battalions in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia next year.

Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its support for rebels fighting in eastern Ukraine provoked considerable alarm in this region that Moscow might also consider aggressive action against countries on Nato’s eastern flank, says the BBC’s Adam Eston in Warsaw.

Nato sought to soothe those fears at its Warsaw summit in July by announcing it would deploy troops to both the Baltic states and Poland, our correspondent says.

Nato said it was a purely defensive action but Moscow sees it as a threat and the deployment of the missiles could be viewed as a counter measure, he adds.

Source: Russia deploys nuclear-capable missiles in Kaliningrad – BBC News

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4 Comments

  1. Roland October 9, 2016 at 9:18 am - Reply

    The US want world war three and thats the long and short of it just look at the US over the last 60years there aim is to rule the world and the UK is running behind like a lap dog

  2. Dez October 9, 2016 at 9:25 am - Reply

    Hopefully these nukes have a more robust failsafe fire button, and a much brighter launch crew, than the anti aircraft missile that downed the airliner, and all those innocents, over Ukraine. Yes it does feel that the military have already taken over
    the war preparations not helped by those greedy US military manufacturers lobbying their dozy US parliaments.

  3. NMac October 9, 2016 at 10:42 am - Reply

    US foreign policy is geared to world hegemony and British politicians cling onto their shirt tails.

  4. wildswimmerpete October 9, 2016 at 2:15 pm - Reply

    Cuba might be just an historical event to many but to those of us who lived through that crisis hoped to never ever witness anything like it again. Cuba was a battle of ideologies but now the current dispute appears to be partly over religion but mostly over OIL. If we’re not careful the “hydrocarbon era” might be ended more abruptly that we’d prefer as we enter another stone age.

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