Defending the Kurils

[SunlitZelkova]

Hi, I'm looking for sources related to how the Russians plan to defend the Kurils in the event of a Japanese attack on them.

From what I can tell they'd be in a very tough spot. Most of the Russian Pacific Fleet's big units are in Primorye, so if Japan blocks the La Perouse Straight they'd not be able to get through. Since the closure of Burevestnik Airfield, all of their fighter bases are out of range from the islands (at least by CMO standards), leaving only the possibility of Su-24/34s providing CAS on their own and MiG-31s make single intercept missions and returning to base.

The 18th Machine Gun Artillery Division was reportedly deployed to Ukraine, potentially leaving the islands completely undefended from a ground incursion.

[Nikel]

Found this short japanese document in english.

https://www.mod.go.jp/en/d_act/sec_env/pdf/ru_d-act.pdf


Also in the russian wikipedia article (google translated), there are some details with links, may be outdated.

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1 ... 0%BE%D0%B2

Military-strategic aspect

Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands are defended by the 68th Army Corps of the Russian Armed Forces, which includes the 18th Machine Gun and Artillery Division stationed in the Kuril Islands [107] . The Russian troops on the Kuril Islands are armed with T-80BV tanks [108] and S-300V4 air defense systems [109] . The Bastion coastal defense complexes are located on the islands Iturup, Matua and Paramushir [110] . Su-35S fighters are stationed at Yasny airport on Iturup island [111] . In August 2023, the Kyodo News news agency , based on an expert analysis of American satellite images of the islands of Iturup and Kunashir, reported that S-300B4 complexes with radars and other equipment were transferred to Ukraine in preparation for the offensive [112] . At the end of January 2024, Dmitry Medvedev said that the strategic role of the Kuril Islands would grow, including the deployment of new weapons there [113] .

The grouping of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces on the island of Hokkaido, closest to the Kuril Islands, is represented by the Northern Army with a total strength of 35,000 people [114] . At the end of 2022, the Japanese government announced plans to deploy hypersonic missiles in Hokkaido [115] .

According to experts, the key task of the Russian Pacific Fleet is to counter the Japanese fleet in the framework of a hypothetical conflict between Russia and Japan (as the only country in the region that has territorial claims to Russia, and at the same time is an ally of the United States, and at the same time theoretically capable of carrying out an offensive operation in the disputed area and independently, that is, without drawing the American armed forces into the conflict ). The Japanese fleet in the region has a numerical advantage, while at the same time the Russian fleet has a significant number of nuclear submarines, which the Japanese fleet does not have [116] .

[SunlitZelkova]

Thanks!