Estonia worried by Russian missile deployment

TALLINN - Numerous high-ranking Estonian officials have expressed their concern at Russia's recent deployment of missiles in the Leningrad Military District, well within striking distance of all three Baltic States and Finland.

“We do not comprehend such a step considering both modern security threats and current relations between Russia and NATO,” Estonian defense minister Jaak Aaviksoo said in a statement to the press.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, likewise, said the decision "is an alarming move."

Russia's deployment of the missiles comes shortly after the United States transferred a number of surface-to-air Patriot missiles, along with about 100 soldiers, to the Polish town of Morag, just 60 kilometers from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

US-Russian relations have been strained over the past few years by a US plan to install a "missile shield" throughout Eastern Europe.

On July 17 the commander of Russia's ground forces, Aleksandr Postnikov, told Ekho Moskvy radio that Iskander missile systems were being put into service in the military region around the city of St. Petersburg, which lies some 140 kilometers from Estonia. The Iskander missiles have a range of 400 km.