Translated material
Without complexes
The Kaliningrad region is ready to deploy Iskander missiles
In his message to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, announced on November 5, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev put an end to the discussion on whether to turn the Kaliningrad region into a missile-carrying region or try to develop it, as before, as a pilot region for interaction between Russia and the West. Mr. Medvedev said that an Iskander missile system should be deployed near Kaliningrad in order to, if necessary, neutralize elements of the American missile defense system in Europe (in particular, ten missile defense systems near the Polish city of Slupsk - about 200 km from Kaliningrad). Iskander (according to NATO classification - SS-26 Stone) is a high-precision weapon capable of hitting targets at a distance of 50 to 500 km, belongs to the family of operational-tactical missile systems.One of the first who openly declared at a high level about the need to place such warheads in the Kaliningrad region was then the first, and now simply Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergei Ivanov. He made this statement in the summer of 2007, explaining that Russia would take such a step only if it was driven into a corner during the dialogue on deploying a US missile defense system in Eastern Europe. Back in the spring of that year, the Polish press predicted: if Russia withdraws from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, then missiles will definitely appear near Kaliningrad. Local politicians said: “the region has already been full of missiles during the Soviet era,” “now all the attention is on investment.”
But in January 2008, signals of a different kind appeared. The head of the Main Directorate of Combat Training and Troop Service of the Russian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Vladimir Shamanov, said then that the Russian Ministry of Defense plans to change the formation of the group of troops in the Kaliningrad special region in response to the deployment of elements of US missile defense in Europe. This summer, a visiting meeting of the defense committees of the State Duma and the Federation Council was held in the region, the result of which was the conclusion: the local group of troops needs to be modernized, high-precision weapons will be placed near Poland, and money for this will be allocated without delay. The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry suspected that nuclear weapons could appear in the Kaliningrad region and issued a protest statement about this. The assumptions of the Polish press turned out to be more correct.
“If necessary, the Iskander missile system will be deployed in the Kaliningrad region to neutralize the missile defense system in Europe,” Mr. Medvedev said. He emphasized that this measure is forced. “We have repeatedly told all our partners that we are committed to positive cooperation, we want to act against common threats, we want to act together. But, unfortunately, very unfortunately, they don’t want to listen to us,” the president explained. He clarified that from the territory of the Kaliningrad region, Russia will use electronic warfare to suppress elements of the American missile defense system that will appear in Europe.
Judging by subsequent comments from local elites, this decision was not unexpected. “It was clear that Russia would take adequate measures. This is quite natural. The installation of medium- and operational-tactical-range missiles is aimed at creating a counterweight to the military strengthening of Europe, which, by the way, was initiated by those who do not live in Europe. We have talked and are talking about this at all levels, including international, and everyone understands this. The only news is that now it has been announced publicly,” said Kaliningrad Governor Georgy Boos.
The governor did not mention whether the presence of missiles would be combined with the implementation of several fundamental projects for the region. Such projects include the creation of tourist and gambling zones, the functioning of a special economic zone, the construction of the Baltic nuclear power plant (with the subsequent export of part of the energy to Europe), and the construction of a government residence. Speaker of the regional Duma Sergei Bulychev believes that all these projects will not be affected. “We have a fairly serious land group, the Baltic Fleet. And this did not stop us from attracting investment to the region. In addition, there is the example of Central and Western Europe - NATO bases are located there, they do not interfere with business,” Mr. Bulychev explained his point of view.
The assessment given by the former commander of the Baltic Fleet, Vladimir Valuev, to the president’s words was emotional: “Iskander” in combination with strike missile weapons is the dream that military people dream of to carry out their tasks.” In his opinion, the Kaliningrad region, being an outpost of Russia, is intended to protect against possible outbreaks of hostilities, especially against missile attacks. “In addition, there are Belarusian allies not far from the region, and they will also welcome (such a decision. - Ed. ). Because the latest systems, both missile and anti-missile, are able to protect not only Russia, but also fraternal countries,” says Mr. Valuev.
In a conversation with a Vremya Novostei correspondent, the Russian permanent representative to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, said that the deployment of the Iskander missile system in the Kaliningrad region could nullify the elements of the US missile defense system being installed in Europe. “NATO should have known in advance that their adventures would not end well. None of the serious people believes in fairy tales about the Iranian missile threat, in the fact that on the shores of the Baltic Sea - thousands of kilometers from Tehran - it is necessary to install systems to intercept the notorious missile strike. Nobody believes that Osama Bin Laden can grab a rocket and, running with it under his arm, threaten the peaceful West,” said Mr. Rogozin.
In his opinion, the deployment of missiles on Polish territory, near the Kaliningrad region, creates the threat of an attack on Russia. “The answer has been found. The solution from a military-technical point of view is simple, inexpensive and extremely effective. After the military measures announced by the President of the Russian Federation, any threat in the form of missile defense in Poland or the Czech Republic will be nullified,” the permanent representative believes.
In the West, Mr. Medvedev's statement was predictably critical. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that the George W. Bush administration was disappointed with the announcement of the deployment of Iskander missile systems in the Kaliningrad region: “We talked about this before. Russia's actions are undoubtedly disappointing. The missile defense facilities in the Czech Republic and Poland are not directed against Russia. The small number of interceptor missiles that will be deployed at the missile defense site will be easily defeated by Russian (military) forces.” Concerned statements followed from the European Commission, Lithuania, Latvia and Germany. But in Poland there were no fears. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called Mr. Medvedev’s words “a political, not a military declaration” and said that he would not attach too much importance to these words.