MOSCOW – Russia deployed a new division of S-400 surface-to-air missilesin Crimea on Saturday, Russian news agencies reported, in an escalation ofmilitary tensions on the Crimean peninsula.
Russian annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, triggering economic sanctionsby the European Union and United States and a tense stand-off in the region.
The US said in December it planned to provide Ukraine with “enhanceddefensive capabilities”, which officials said included Javelin anti-tankmissiles..
Moscow’s latest deployment represents the second division armed with S-400air defence systems on the peninsula, after the first in the spring of 2017near the port town of Fedosia.
The new division will be based next to the town of Sevastopol and willcontrol the airspace over the border with Ukraine, the RIA news agencyreported.
The new air defence system, designed to defend Russia’s borders, can beturned into combat mode in less than five minutes, Interfax news agencyquoted Viktor Sevostyanov, a commander with Russia’s air forces, as saying.
Russia’s defence ministry says the S-400 systems, known as “Triumph”, canbring down airborne targets at a range of 400 kilometres and ballisticmissiles at a range of 60 kilometres.
They were first introduced to the Russian military’s arsenal in 2007, theministry said. – Agencies