Moscow halts missile deployment

Russia’s General Staff says the deployment of Iskander missiles near EU borders has been put on hold to mirror Washington’s attitude towards its antimissile project.

Russia announced its plans to deploy Iskander short range missiles in Kaliningrad region after the U.S. reached a final agreement with Poland that opened way for the creation of the American antimissile system in Eastern Europe. Moscow considers this system a threat to its national security.

Since Barack Obama’s administration is not pushing forward with the antimissiles, Russia’s military are putting their plans on hold as well, a source in the General Staff told Interfax news agency.

“Russia does not need to deploy Iskanders in Kaliningrad region if U.S. AMD elements do not appear in Eastern European countries,” the officer said.

So far there has been no official confirmation of this information.

The Iskander missile has a range of 280 kilometres and constantly changes its trajectory in flight, which helps it penetrate the enemy’s air defences. Each missile vehicle has two missiles that can be launched at different targets with a one minute interval.