Reuters:
Russia’s deployment of its S-400 air missile defense system and ballistic Iskander missile in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad “is destabilizing to European security,” the U.S. State Department said on Monday in response to reports citing the head of the defense committee in Russia’s upper house of parliament.
“Russia has made threats to move its Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad for the past decade in response to a variety of developments in Europe, none of which demand such a military response,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
“We call on Russia to refrain from words or deeds that are inconsistent with the goal of promoting security and stability,” he added.
Moscow will deploy S-400 surface-to-air missiles and nuclear-capable Iskander systems in the exclave of Kaliningrad in retaliation for NATO deployments, a senior pro-Kremlin lawmaker was quoted as saying on Monday.
Russia has previously said it periodically sends Iskanders to Kaliningrad, but until now it has said these were routine drills. Moscow has not linked the moves explicitly with what it says is a NATO military build-up on Russia’s western borders. Kaliningrad is a Russian province between Poland and Lithuania.
