Russia Sends Missile Warships Near Japan after Putin's visit

Russia sent four missile-armed Pacific Fleet warships near Japan on August 14, 2026, passing about 40 kilometers from Hokkaido a day after Vladimir Putin visited disputed Iturup, UNITED24 Media reported.

Japan’s Joint Staff said on August 16 that four Russian Project 12411M Molniya-1 missile corvettes were detected off Cape Soya on Hokkaido. A P-3C maritime patrol aircraft from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s 2nd Air Wing monitored the vessels and collected information on their movements.

Japanese authorities said the ships did not enter Japan’s territorial waters. The vessels carried hull numbers 916, 946, 971 and 978, and belong to Russia’s Pacific Fleet. NATO designates the Project 12411M class as Tarantul III.

The same four warships were detected on August 9 about 70 kilometers northwest of Japan’s Rebun Island before sailing east through the Soya Strait. They were later observed heading back west on August 14, one day after Putin traveled to Iturup on August 13, prompting a formal protest from Tokyo.

Japan considers Iturup part of its Northern Territories, which were seized by the Soviet Union in 1945 and remain under Russian control. The territorial dispute has prevented Japan and Russia from formally concluding a World War II peace treaty. Russia considers the Kuril Islands strategically important and maintains military infrastructure across the archipelago, including the Burevestnik military airfield on Iturup.

The Project 12411M Molniya-1 is a Soviet-designed missile corvette built to engage surface targets in coastal and near-sea waters. Each vessel carries four 3M80 Moskit supersonic anti-ship missiles, a 76 mm AK-176M naval gun, two six-barrel 30 mm AK-630M close-in weapon systems and Igla-1 surface-to-air missiles. Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, warned Japan of “monstrous consequences” after Tokyo reiterated its claim to the islands and protested Putin’s visit.