Polish PM: Putin uses Iskanders to influence EU's decisions

Moscow steps up military activity to pressure EU leaders ahead of the summit scheduled for March 19-20.

Sanctions against Russia will be discussed at the meeting, Agence France Presse quotes Polish PM Ewa Kopacz as saying, Ukrainska Pravda reports.

“Russia is making these kinds of gestures on the eve of the next EU summit on March 19-20 to gain a degree of influence on the decisions of the European Council regarding sanctions,” she said. “We've found heightened activity in the Baltic Sea and in Baltic airspace but there is no reason yet to sound the alarm.”

Russian Iskander missile systems will be deployed in the Kaliningrad Oblast as part of massive military manoeuvres ordered by Vladimir Putin on March 16.

9K720 Iskander-M missile systems with a range of 500 kilometres are produced to replace old 9K79 Tochka missile systems (9K79-1 Tochka-U systems). Guided ballistic missiles can be controlled throughout the entire flight, which makes their trajectory unpredictable and allows them to evade anti-ballistic missiles. The system can be equipped with high-precision R-500 cruise missiles.