Russia to Build 51 Earthquake-Resistant Structures in Kuril Islands Disputed with Japan

Russia has constructed 25 earthquake-resistant structures and plans to build an additional 26 in Kuril Islands archipelago, over which, even Japan lays its claim on.

The military’s air defense unit has been deployed in Kunashir, the southernmost Kuril Island, where Russia has completed building the 25 structures.

“We have already commissioned more than 25 different structures on the archipelago of the Great ridge of the Kuril Islands. In Kunashir, an air defense unit took over duty at an updated combat position. In total, military builders will erect 51 structures designed to withstand an earthquake with a magnitude of up to nine points,” Timur Ivanov, Russia’s deputy defense minister, was quoted as saying by the government-owned Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper.

The minister added that seven hostels for personnel including on the Iturup and Kunashir islands, have already been built. Another one is planned to be completed in early 2021.

"The new housing is fully equipped, the rooms have everything you need for life. Everything is according to the latest science and technology. Power units from diesel generators in modular automated boiler rooms are installed in military camps," Ivanov said.

Japan claims four southern Kuril Islands - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai, citing the 1855 Treaty on Trade and Frontiers. Moscow's position is that the South Kurils became part of the USSR following the Second World War and Russian sovereignty over them, which has international legal registration.

In recent years, Russia has significantly increased its military grouping in the Kuril Islands. In August 2018, it was reported that Su-35 fighters were deployed at the Yasny airport on Iturup Island. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the introduction of an air defense alert zone on Kunashir in April last year.

Earlier this month, Moscow deployed S-300V4 air defense systems on the disputed islands near Japan in response to Washington's plans to deploy missiles in the Asia-Pacific region.