Fifty States to Attend Moscow Missile Defense Conference

April 26 (RIA Novosti)  BRUSSELS.

Participants from 50 countries will attend a missile defense conference in Moscow on May 3-4, Chief of the Russian General Staff, Army Gen. Nikolai Makarov said. “There will be more than 150 participants from 50 states,” Makarov told journalists in Brussels on Wednesday after the NATO-Russia Council meeting. “NATO’s 28 member states have confirmed their participation.”
The conference, to be held by the Russian Defense Ministry, will also be attended by representatives of China, South Korea, Japan, the CIS and Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) countries. The proposed U.S.-led missile shield in Europe remains a major source of tension between Russia and the United States, and the Kremlin has threatened to deploy tactical weapons close to Europe if it is not made full partner in the scheme. 

The echo of the past war

The city of Poltava and its surroundings were an area of fierce combat actions in 1943. Many decades had passed since that time but even now a bucket of excavator or tractor plough digs out such a reminder of the past war shown on the photo below. This 76-mm shell was found a few days ago not far from Poltava. Many 76 mm divisional guns M1942 (ZIS-3) were used during the liberation of Poltava in September 1943. To collect and defuse a numerous shells and bombs all regional centres of Ukraine have special military units manned by qualified sappers and equipped with the most appropriate technical means. The same day a very dangerous find was detonated in a controlled explosion.

Russia deploys S-400s in Kaliningrad

April 7, 2012 (Associated Press) A Russian newspaper Izvestia has reported that the military has begun deploying S-400 mobile surface-to-air missiles in Kaliningrad, the Baltic exclave bordered by Poland and Lithuania. Izvestia cited unnamed military officials as saying the missiles arrived Friday, but did not say how many. The Defense Ministry declined comment on the report. S-400s, Russia's most advanced surface-to-air missiles, have a range of 120-400 kilometers (75-250 miles). The report comes amid rising tension between the U.S. and Russia over Washington's plans for a missile-shield system in Europe, which Russia contends threatens its own defenses. S-400s are already deployed around Moscow and are planned to be placed in the Pacific Far East this year.