On August 20th, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that during a planned exercise, the Russian Pacific Fleet conducted missile strikes on targets near the coast of the South Kuril Islands (referred to as the 'Four Northern Islands' by Japan).
During the exercise, the target simulated an imaginary enemy ship more than 300 kilometers away. The Guards Cruiser "Varyag" fired two "Volcano" anti-ship missiles, and the nuclear-powered submarine "Omsk" launched "Granite" cruise missiles. At the same time, the "Fortress" shore defense system from the Kuril Islands struck with "Agate" missiles.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on August 4 that the Russian Pacific Fleet would conduct large-scale military exercises in the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the northwestern Pacific waters starting from that date.
During this period, Russia and Japan again erupted over the disputed islands in the Nanqian Island chain.
According to the Kremlin and Russian media, on August 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Naldar Saratov, the capital of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East, where he personally commanded and inspected the final stage of the Russian Pacific Fleet exercise. The Kremlin stated in its statement that Putin 'participated' in the exercise.
On August 13, Putin arrived in the South Kuril Islands for a work inspection. This was Putin's first visit to the islands. Putin inspected a fish processing factory located on Iturup Island (known as "Oki" by Japan), and tasted caviar produced locally. Afterwards, he also visited hospitals and schools on the islands, and engaged with students at school.
According to an interview with local island residents conducted by the Japan's Kyodo News on the 15th, Putin arrived near the island on the 13th by boarding the Russian Pacific Fleet's flagship missile cruiser 'Varyag', and then transferred to a coastal patrol boat to reach the island. After completing his inspection, Putin left the island using a government flight. The report indicates that Putin's rare use of a military ship rather than an airplane to arrive at the island is possibly the first time such an event has occurred for a Russian leader.
Russian media reported that Putin directly refuted Japan during the exercise, accusing it of changing the stance on building constructive relations between Russia and Japan, and used Shinzo Abe to "strike" Koike Takemi.
Subsequently, the Japanese side expressed strong protest, and Russia summoned the Japanese ambassador to Russia. On August 18th, Japanese Ambassador to Russia Takehiko Takeuchi was summoned to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and left after staying there for 25 minutes, without making any comments to the media.
