Russia will deploy the S-400 system in Crimea
A new system of surface-to-air missiles (S-400) will soon be deployed in Crimea as tension between Russia and Ukraine has escalated since Sunday over the breach of Russian territorial waters by a Ukrainian navy, as Russian military official said on Wednesday.
“In the near future, an air defense system will be installed at a combat site in Crimea to protect the airspace of the Russian Federation”, said Colonel Vadim Astafiyev, the spokesman of the southern Russian military District.
According to Russian news agency RIA Novosti, the S-400 will be installed before the end of this year to join three other S-400 systems which already in service mainly in the Crimea.
The Russian announcement follows the maritime incident on Sunday between the Russian coast guard and three Ukrainian navy vessels trying to enter the Azov Sea across the Russian-controlled Kerch Strait, leaving the three ships off the Crimean coast with the 24 crew members, including three wounded.
The incident, is the first armed confrontation of its kind between Ukraine and Russia since Russia’s annexation of the Crimea in March 2014.
A source in the Russian security services had announced in September to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti that a fourth system of S-400 systems will be deployed in the Crimea near the city of Djankoy, which is a small city near the Ukrainian-Russian border.
