On Saturday, Japanese media reported that Russia was conducting drills on islands claimed by Tokyo, days after Moscow halted peace talks with Tokyo due to sanctions imposed by the US over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to Russia’s Interfax news agency, Russia’s Eastern Military District is conducting military training on the Kuril islands with over 3,000 troops and hundreds of pieces of army equipment.
It didn’t indicate where the drills were taking place on the island chain that connects Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula with Japan’s northernmost main island, Hokkaido. According to Japanese media, they were on land conquered by the Soviet Union at the conclusion of WWII and claimed by Tokyo.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister’s Office could not be reached for comment on the drills.
The territorial disagreement over the four islets, which Russia claims are part of its Kuril group but Japan refers to as its Northern Territories, has stopped Tokyo and Moscow from signing a peace treaty that would officially end the war.
In response for Japan embracing Western sanctions over Moscow’s month-long invasion, Russia withdrew from long-running treaty talks and stopped collaborative commercial projects relating to the islands on Tuesday.
According to Interfax, Russia’s exercises included resisting amphibious warfare, which also included destroying defence aircraft carrying troops and testing skills to operate anti-tank guided missile fire control systems.
‘In addition, Air Defense Forces units are implementing a set of methods to detect, identify, and destroy aircraft of a pretend enemy that would launch an airborne assault,’ the District’s press service said in a statement.
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