거침없는' 러시아, 이베리아반도 인근에 미사일 시험발사

 

거침없는' 러시아, 이베리아반도 인근에 미사일 시험발사 

[연합뉴스] 2008년 01월 23일(수) 오후 12:09

(서울=연합뉴스) 경제.군사적 자신감을 회복하고 있는 러시아의 행보가 거침없다.

러시아가 냉전 이후 대서양에서 처음으로 실시한 대규모 군사훈련에서 이베리아 반도 인근에 미사일을 시험발사하는 등 무력을 과시하고 있다.

스페인과 포르투갈이 위치한 이베리아 반도는 유럽의 서남단.

러시아는 흑해함대 소속 순양함 등을 동원해 프랑스 서해안과 스페인 북해안 사이의 비스케이만에서 3일간의 군사훈련에 돌입했다. 러시아 공군은 '블랙잭'으로 불리는 장거리 폭격기 Tu160 두 대가 스페인과 포르투갈 해안에서 전술 미사일을 발사했으며, 스페인과 포르투갈에 이를 사전에 알렸다고 밝혔다.

영국공군(RAF)과 노르웨이 공군은 이에 맞서 전투기를 긴급 출격, Tu160을 추적한 것으로 알려졌다.

영국 일간 텔레그래프 인터넷판은 22일 러시아의 대서양 군사훈련이 러시아 국내의 민족주의에 영합하고 대외적으로는 러시아의 군사력을 과시하려는 블라디미르 푸틴 러시아 대통령의 의도를 보여주는 것이라고 분석했다.

러시아가 지난해 나토(북대서양조약기구) 회원국들에게 이번 훈련을 이미 통보했지만 서방의 불안을 자아낼 것으로 보인다고 신문은 지적했다. 러시아는 지난해 푸틴 대통령의 명령에 따라 소련 붕괴 이후 중단됐던 장거리 폭격기의 영토 밖 정찰비행을 재개하는 등 군사력을 과시하고 있다.

신문은 그러나 러시아가 옛 소련 시절 이래 최대 규모라고 자랑했던 이번 대서양 훈련에 참가한 러시아 군의 재래식 무기는 "딱한 수준이었다"고 전했다.

연합뉴스

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Russia rattles its depleted sabre in the Atlantic

By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow

Last Updated: 1:58am GMT 23/01/2008

The Kremlin has flexed its military might off the European coastline as Russian warships and nuclear bombers test fired missiles close to the Iberian peninsula during the first major military manouevres in the Atlantic since the Cold War.

 

                                      The Tupolev Tu-160 "Blackjack" bomber

The RAF and the Norwegian Air Force were forced to scramble fighter jets to shadow Russian long-range bombers headed for the Bay of Biscay where vessels from the Northern and Black Sea fleets have begun three days of exercises.

The manouevres are the latest indication of President Vladimir Putin's intent to project Russia's growing military prowess to the international community and to pander to growing nationalist sentiment at home.

The Russian Air Force said that two Tu160 bombers, known in the West as Blackjacks, would conduct tactical missile launches off the Spanish and Portugese coastlines. Both countries, Russia said, had been informed in advance.

Earlier, the guided missile cruiser Moskva, flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, took part in a live fire exercise that a navy spokesman said was 100 per cent successful.

Although Russia gave warning of the exercises to Nato countries last year, the operation is likely to cause an element of disquiet in the West - albeit more for political than military reasons.

As East-West relations have soured, Mr Putin responded last year by ordering a resumption of long-range bomber patrols in international airspace for the first time since the Soviet era.

He also threatened to retrain part of Russia's considerable nuclear arsenal on European targets if a proposed US missile defence shield, to be built in Poland and the Czech Republic by 2012, is not scrapped.

Yet for all the posturing, Russia still carries a small stick militarily - big enough to impress ordinary Russians at a time when Mr Putin is plotting to retain power behind the scenes after elections this March but too puny to frighten the West just yet.

While the president has sharply increased defence spending and commissioned a new generation of nuclear missiles, Russia's defence budget is a tenth of the United States' and is also smaller than Britain.

The Atlantic exercises - described by a Russian navy source as "the biggest exercise of its kind in the area since Soviet times" - have also shown that Russia's conventional military hardware remain in a sorry state.

For unexplained reasons, a number of ships meant to participate stayed at home and those that did sail are in poor condition. The Moskva is 30 years old, while the Admiral Kuznetzov, Russia's rickety aircraft carrier, spends much of its time in dry docks undergoing repairs.

In a token gesture of East-West co-operation, the French navy has agreed to send an anti-submarine frigate to join the exercises. The Russian flotilla had earlier docked in Toulon.

While Russia's military prowess may still be dubious, its growing status as an energy superpower is not. Russia and Serbia yesterday agreed a pipeline deal that will boost Moscow's energy control over Europe.

Last week a similar deal was agreed with Bulgaria.