Russia Conducts Air Drill in Kuril Islands Ahead of G7 Summit

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:53 JST, May 17, 2023

Russia announced Tuesday that it conducted an air defense drill in the Kuril Islands using the S-300V4, a high-performance surface-to-air missile.

The electronic launch drill, which does not fire missiles, was carried out by the Eastern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces under the assumption that hypothetical enemy aircraft had invaded the territorial airspace.

It is believed that Moscow wanted to demonstrate to Tokyo that the northern territories are part of Russia before Japan hosts the G7 summit in Hiroshima from Friday.