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Russian missile deployment across Polish border ‘inappropriate’: FM

PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea 11.10.2016 15:37
The Polish foreign minister has hit out at Russia’s decision to deploy ballistic missiles in the Kaliningrad exclave neighbouring Poland as “an absolutely inappropriate response” to NATO activity in the region.
Photo: Wikimedia CommonsPhoto: Wikimedia Commons

“We believe that the Russian response of deploying missiles in Kaliningrad is an absolutely inappropriate response to what the North Atlantic Alliance is doing,” Witold Waszczykowski said on Monday.

At a July NATO summit in Warsaw, members of the alliance announced they would deploy four multinational battalions to Poland and three Baltic countries, amid fears of potential Russian aggression following Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

On Monday, Waszczykowski said he did "not see any justification for such a large reinforcement of the Kaliningrad garrison by deploying offensive weapons such as Iskander missiles there […] this means that most of Polish territory could be a target of these missiles.”

Russian confirmed that Iskander ballistic missiles, with a range of 500-700km, reached the Kaliningrad region last week “as part of routine manoeuvres”.

“These missile units have been deployed [in Kaliningrad] more than once [...] and will be deployed as part of the military training of the Russian Armed Forces,” a spokesman for the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

The Iskander is designed to destroy targets such as missile systems, multiple rocket launchers, long-range artillery, aircraft and helicopters at airfields, command centers and communication hubs.

(vz/pk)

Source: PAP, Polish Foreign Ministry

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