Overview
- President Vladimir Putin made his first personal visit to Iturup on Thursday, August 13, inspecting Pacific Fleet maneuvers and traveling from nearby Sakhalin, the Kremlin and multiple outlets reported.
- Japan filed a formal and energetic protest after the trip, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi calling the visit "absolutely unacceptable" and the foreign ministry restating Tokyo’s claim to four so‑called Northern Territories.
- The Kremlin released video of Putin meeting residents and visiting a school, hospital and a fish‑processing plant where state media said he tasted local caviar and inspected the fleet’s flagship.
- Bilateral negotiations over the islands are suspended after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and a 2020 amendment to Russia’s constitution that bans ceding territory makes any near‑term transfer unlikely.
- About 20,000 people live on the islands and they have rich fishing grounds and mineral prospects, so Moscow’s visits combine practical military presence with a symbolic assertion of sovereignty that could raise economic and security tensions with Tokyo.