MOSCOW — Russia has deployed short-range ballistic missiles in the country’s west, a move that it contends does not violate international treaties, the Defense Ministry said Monday, though it conceivably would allow Russia to carry out a precise strike against the Baltic nations and Poland.

The deployment of the Iskander missiles, which have a maximum range of about 250 miles and are capable of carrying conventional or nuclear payloads, has often been threatened by Russia as a response to proposed extensions of an American missile defense shield in Eastern Europe. However, the announcement on Monday was the first official confirmation from the Russian government that the Iskander systems may already be deployed within striking distance of NATO countries in Europe.

“Iskander rocket complexes are indeed standing armed with the rocket and artillery divisions in the Western Military District,” a region that includes Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave between Lithuania and Poland, said Igor Konashenkov, a Defense Ministry spokesman.

Mr. Konashenkov was quoted by Russian state news agencies as saying that the locations of the missiles “do not contradict any international agreements or treaties.”