Russia plans bombing drills on disputed islands, report says

Russia has notified Japan that it plans to hold bombing drills this week on a Russian-controlled island chain claimed by Tokyo, Kyodo News reported on Thursday, citing a Japanese Foreign Ministry source.

Japan protested on Tuesday against the five-day exercise, scheduled to run through Saturday on Iturup, known in Japan as Etorofu. The source said Tokyo objected that Russia’s increased military presence on the disputed islands was incompatible with Japan’s position.

Neither side has officially confirmed the reported drills.

The report follows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Etorofu in August, his first trip to the island chain, which prompted protests from Tokyo.

Russia calls the islands the Southern Kuril Islands, while Japan refers to them collectively as the Northern Territories. Tokyo says the territories—Iturup, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group—were “illegally” seized by the former Soviet Union soon after Japan’s surrender in World War II in 1945. Russia maintains that the seizure was legitimate.

The territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty since World War II. Tensions have deepened in recent years amid Japan’s sanctions against Moscow over the Russia-Ukraine war.