Russia to build new missile early-warning radar station in Crimea

Russia plans to build a new missile early-warning radar station in Crimea next year, the Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing a Crimean security source.

News that a new military facility will be built in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, follows Russia's seizure of three Ukrainian navy vessels off the coast of the peninsula on Sunday.

The new radar station -- which will be able to track ballistic and cruise missiles from a long distance -- will be built near the port of Sevastopol where Russia's Black Sea fleet is based, the source told the news agency.

Interfax reported earlier on Thursday that Russia was also working on a new technical system to allow it to better track shipping around the peninsula in order to protest its maritime borders.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday it would deploy a new battalion of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems on the Crimean peninsula by the end of the year.