World · 21 August 2026

Japan protests as Putin watches Russian missile drills on disputed islands

The Russian navy struck targets about 300km from Etorofu using a fleet of 60 vessels and 30 aircraft. Vladimir Putin watched the manoeuvres from a warship last week after touring the territory, which Soviet forces captured when the second world war ended. Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan's foreign minister, condemned the weapons testing on Thursday while travelling in Oman.

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