The disputed island has become a stage for a military display, as Moscow and Tokyo trade protests over a visit that reignited old tensions.
Russia’s Pacific Fleet conducted missile drills near Iturup, one of the islands controlled by Moscow but claimed by Japan. The exercises took place amid heightened diplomatic tensions between Russia and Japan following Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iturup on August 13.
The Russian military did not specify the exact date of the firing exercises. It announced the drills after Russia’s Foreign Ministry lodged a protest with Tokyo over Japan’s reaction to Putin’s visit.
Missile Systems, a Cruiser, and a Submarine
The Russian Navy said the exercises involved a unit equipped with the Bastion coastal missile system deployed on Iturup. The missile cruiser Varyag and the nuclear-powered submarine Omsk also took part in the drills.
Russia claims that the vessels simulated a strike against ships of a hypothetical enemy. According to its account, the designated targets were hit at a distance of at least 300 kilometers.
The Dispute Over the Northern Territories
Iturup is the largest of the four disputed islands. In Japan, this group is known as the Northern Territories, while Russia refers to them as the Southern Kurils.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi protested to Russia after Putin’s trip to Iturup. Japan’s Foreign Ministry said that Tokyo was considering possible responses to the Russian dictator’s visit.
Japanese authorities believe that the former Soviet Union illegally seized the Northern Territories after the country’s surrender in World War II on August 15, 1945. In March 2022, the Japanese government once again used the term “illegally occupied” in reference to these lands in its annual Diplomatic Bluebook. Moscow, in turn, insists that its seizure of the islands was lawful.
In October 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recognized Japan’s Northern Territories as occupied by Russia in a decree. The missile drills near Iturup became another factor intensifying the long-standing territorial dispute between Moscow and Tokyo.