During a maneuver in the Sea of Japan, Russia tested cruise missiles. The Kremlin wants to demonstrate strength against US ally Japan. This fuels an old conflict.
“Two Moskit cruise missiles hit the target a hundred kilometers away,” the Russian Ministry of Defense proudly reported. But it was not a Ukraine war success story that Moscow released on Tuesday. The two Russian supersonic missiles hit a specially prepared target in the Sea of Japan, in a bay Russia has named in honor of Peter the Great. In an emergency, Moskit cruise missiles are designed to destroy enemy ships.
The Russian Pacific Fleet is currently conducting extensive naval maneuvers in the region. And a week ago, the Kremlin had two long-range strategic bombers patrolling the Sea of Japan. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to show strength with this – as with his announcement that tactical nuclear weapons will be stationed in Belarus. But the military muscles flexing in the Pacific shouldn’t just impress the US and European states. Above all, it is also a message for Tokyo.