Russia to move rockets to EU border if Poland hosts US missile shield

Russia has threatened to deploy bombers and short-range missiles on the Polish border if Warsaw agrees to host elements of a US missile defense shield on its territory. The warning marks a further escalation in the diplomatic crisis between Russia and the United States. Russian military hardware has not been stationed on the border of what is now the European Union since the Cold War. Russia's ambassador to Minsk, Alexander Surikov, said that bombers and short-range quasiballistic missiles would be stationed in the west of Belarus, Moscow's most important ex-Soviet ally, once Poland and the United States agree to terms. "When Poland signs the agreement with the American side about hosting elements of the missile defence system, then we can discuss some additional aspects of military-technical cooperation with Belarus," he said. "We could be talking about the possible basing of Iskander missiles." There was some relief that the ambassador ruled out stationing nuclear missiles in the country. Even so, the ambassador's threat was a further signal that hopes for a diplomatic settlement to the crisis were fading. The missile defense system, which the United States insists is necessary to protect Europe from a nuclear strike by Iran, has taken on increasing momentum after the Czech Republic agreed to host the shield's radar component. Despite public opposition and internal divisions, Poland now appears close to allowing the United States to station 10 interceptor missiles on its territory. Convinced that it is the shield's true target, Russia has threatened to retrain its nuclear arsenal on Europe and deploy military hardware in both Belarus and the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. With a range of up to 310 miles for its new generation of Iskander missiles, Russia would be able to strike at both the radar and the interceptors if it built a base in western Belarus, analysts said. Military analysts said that a squadron of bombers is likely to be stationed at the Machulishchi air base, 50 miles west of Minsk.