MOSCOW. April 30 (Interfax) - Russian First Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov has inspected the development of military infrastructure on the Kuril Islands of Iturup and Kunashir, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
"He has checked the already instated air defense alert zone on Kunashir, as well as elements of social infrastructure, and has been briefed by Eastern Military District Commander Lt. Gen. Gennady Zhidko on the nearing commissioning of other facilities," the statement said.
A source told Interfax in 2011 that Buk-M1 intermediate-range air defense systems had been deployed on the Kuril Islands. The source also said it was planned to deploy more advanced systems, such as Buk-M2 and Pantsir-S close-range air defense systems, there.
"Homes for personnel and members of their families should be rapidly built on the islands. Comfortable conditions must be created for all personnel stationed on Iturup and Kunashir," the statement quoted Tsalikov as saying.
"The first deputy defense minister ordered the Eastern Military District commander to make proposals regarding construction of the regiment headquarters on Iturup and recreation and sports facilities on the Kuril Islands," the statement said.
The Russian contingent stationed on the Kuril Islands has grown a lot over recent years.
It was reported in August 2018 that Sukhoi Su-35S multirole fighter jets had been put on trial duty on Iturup.
The Pacific Fleet newspaper Boyevaya Vakhta reported in fall 2016 that Russia had deployed new coastal missile systems; Bal and Bastion, on Iturup and Kunashir.
A machine-gun and artillery division has also been deployed on the Kuril Islands. The Eastern Military District said in a statement in May 2017 that the division was being supplied with new weapons and hardware, including unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Russian military additionally reported the opening of an airfield on the Kuril Island of Matua for light military transport planes. The intention to open a naval base on Matua was declared in 2016.
The Kuril contingent has been reinforced with modernized T-72B3 tanks. The Eastern Military District said in a statement in October 2018 that several dozen T-72B3 tanks performed a drill at a range on the Kuril Islands.
Japan lays claims for four South Kuril Islands (Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai) on the basis of the 1855 Treaty of Commerce and Navigation. Moscow maintains that the South Kuril Islands were incorporated by the former Soviet Union as a result of WWII and that Russia's sovereignty over the islands is internationally recognized and unquestionable.