Russia Fires Missiles from Disputed Kuril Islands, Drawing Japan's Protest
Russia's Pacific Fleet fired Bastion surface-to-ship missiles from Etorofu island on 20 August 2026, drawing immediate condemnation from Tokyo (The Guardian). Etorofu is the largest island in a chain that both countries claim: Japan calls them the Northern Territories, while Russia considers them part of the Kuril Islands. The drill simulated an attack on enemy vessels and struck all targets roughly 300 kilometres away. The exercise also deployed a nuclear-powered submarine and a guided-missile cruiser, and involved Oniks, Vulkan, and Granit missile systems — names for different types of Russian anti-ship missiles (Times of India).
Japan's foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi, speaking during a trip to Oman on 20 August, said: "We cannot tolerate moves to strengthen military power on the Four Northern Islands because they go against our country's stance [on the territories]." Tokyo described the drills as "unacceptable" (Chosun Ilbo.
The missile launch is the most visible moment in a broader Russian exercise that began on 4 August 2026 and runs through 29 August. Japan was told in advance that the manoeuvres would include live-fire drills, but lodged a formal protest on 5 August once the scale became clear (The Guardian). According to the Russian news agency Tass, the exercises involve roughly 60 surface ships, submarines, and support vessels, about 30 aircraft and unmanned aerial systems, and over 13,000 service members.
The four islands at the centre of the dispute were seized by the Soviet Union from Japan at the end of the Second World War. Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes the Northern Territories issue as the largest outstanding issue between the two countries (MOFA Diplomatic Bluebook) and maintains that its policy of resolving the territorial dispute and signing a peace treaty with Russia is unchanged (MOFA). The 2016 Diplomatic Bluebook recorded that Russia's "one-sided actions and statements" on the issue had been repeated and that Japan lodged strong protests at various levels (MOFA 2016 Bluebook).
The current escalation follows Vladimir Putin's first visit to Etorofu island in August 2026, which led both Tokyo and Moscow to summon each other's ambassadors (The Guardian). Putin visited a disputed island on 13 August, drawing strong condemnation from Tokyo (Reuters. On 12 August, he watched portions of the exercises from aboard the Varyag, a guided-missile cruiser, as part of a broader trip to the disputed islands and Sakhalin. Aboard the Varyag, Putin stated: "The region is unfortunately becoming increasingly prone to conflict, with Nato seeking to gain a foothold here and the emergence of new military and political blocs" (The Guardian).
The broader context here is that Putin's framing of the drills through a NATO lens connects the Kuril Islands exercises to Moscow's wider strategic narrative. Russia has cast the Asia-Pacific as a theatre where Western alliances are expanding, and the scale of these drills — with assets comparable to a carrier strike group — functions as both a military readiness exercise and a signal directed at Tokyo and its security partners. Japan's MOFA has separately noted that Russia and Western countries clashed over sanctions related to the Ukraine situation, responses to the Syria situation, and in missile defence (MOFA Diplomatic Bluebook 2017). The territorial dispute, in other words, does not exist in isolation but is increasingly entangled with the broader confrontation between Moscow and the West.
Japan's options remain structurally limited. The peace treaty never signed after the Second World War means the two countries lack a formal bilateral framework for resolving disputes, and Russia's militarisation of the islands has consistently undercut Tokyo's position that the territories are illegally occupied. Motegi's remarks from Oman reflect that constraint: Japan can protest, summon ambassadors, and articulate its stance, but the islands remain under Russian administration, and the exercises continue until 29 August. The question now is whether the current cycle of provocations and diplomatic protests hardens into a new status quo or whether either side seeks an off-ramp before the next escalation.
