NATO Says Russia Moving Its Weapons Systems In Crimea; Russian Cyber Threat Against US 'Underestimated'

A Ukrainian flag placed by a family member of a sailor on board the Ukrainian naval landing vessel "Konstantin Olshansky" is seen in the blockaded Donuzlav bay in Crimea March 23, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Russia is reportedly turning Crimea into a military base against NATO forces. NATO General Philip Breedlove said it was Russia’s attempt to project “power” deep in the Black Sea.

Breedlove has revealed in a conference on Feb. 25 that NATO has seen Crimea transform in “fairly significant ways” as far as weapons systems, USNI reports. The NATO commander said Crimea has several weapons systems ranging from air defence systems that can reach almost half of the Black Sea to surface attack systems.

The general remarked that Russia had moved its anti-air and anti-surface missile systems in the region. Breedlove said the weapons can be used against targets in the Black Sea. The militarisation of Crimea has helped turned it into a base against NATO member states in the event hostilities arise between the alliance and Russia.

Although Breedlove didn’t mention the specific weapons systems, local reports from Ukraine suggest that Moscow has moved its Iskander mobile ballistic missile systems into Crimea. The missiles are believed to be capable of being redirected in flight and hit a moving ship.

Since the annexation of Crimea in March 2014, Russia has boosted its presence in the Black Sea while the United States and NATO followed suit. Both NATO and the U.S. have deployed their own signals intelligence ships to maintain military presence in the Black Sea.

Meanwhile, Russia has beaten China as the number one cyber threat to the U.S. According to the U.S. director of national intelligence James Clapper, the Russian cyber threat has become more severe than previously thought. He told the Senate Armed Services Committee that cyber threats against the country’s national and economic security have increased in terms of scale, sophistication, frequency and impact.

In the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community report, Russia has been named one of the most sophisticated states in cyberspace. The intelligence community in the U.S. has noted that Russia’s Ministry of Defence has created its own cyber command similar. Like its U.S. counterpart, the Russian cyber command is responsible for attacking the “enemy command and control systems.”

Jeffrey Carr, head of web security firm Taia Global, believes U.S. intelligence agencies have known for years that Russia is more capable in cyberspace than China, reports The Diplomat. He said Russia's cyber threat was "underestimated" since it is capable of more sophisticated methods in cyber attacks compared to China. 

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