Putin issues nuclear warning over US missiles

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would deploy previously banned long-range missiles near Western countries if the United States follows through on its pledge to deploy several types of nuclear-capable missiles in Germany.

Washington and Berlin announced earlier this month that the United States would begin “intermittent deployments” of long-range precision weapons to Germany starting in 2026 in a show of U.S. commitment to NATO and European deterrence.

The governments said in a statement that these weapons would eventually include SM-6 and Tomahawk cruise missiles, as well as “advanced hypersonic weapons, which have a much longer range than current ground fires in Europe.”

Longer-range missiles, such as the SM-6 and Tomahawks, were banned under the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which banned nuclear and conventional missiles with ranges between just over 300 miles and about 3,400 miles.

The United States formally withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in mid-2019 after accusing Russia of violating the terms of the agreement, a charge echoed by NATO but denied by Moscow. Both sides had suspended participation months earlier.

Russia has said it will not resume production of such missiles as long as the United States does not send its missiles abroad.

Earlier this year, the United States deployed what is known as an intermediate-range missile system in the northern Philippines. The system fires SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles. Putin has previously said that intermediate-range missiles were used in Denmark for training.

In late June, Putin said Moscow would resume production of these short- and medium-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

“All the Cold War features of direct confrontation are returning,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this month.

“If the United States implements these plans, we will consider ourselves free from our unilateral suspension of the deployment of medium- and short-range strike weapons, including measures to raise the capabilities of our navy’s coastal defense forces,” Putin said during a speech in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Sunday, according to Russian state media.

The Kremlin leader said that Moscow is nearing the end of the development of this type of missile system. He added: “We will take the necessary measures to deploy it, taking into account the actions of the United States and its agents in Europe and other regions of the world.”

“This situation is reminiscent of the events of the Cold War period,” Putin added, when the United States deployed Pershing 2 medium-range ballistic missiles in West Germany.

Putin said the US missiles, which are due to be deployed within two years, would put Russia’s military and government command facilities, industrial centers and defence infrastructure within striking range.

“The flight time of such missiles, which could eventually be equipped with nuclear warheads, would be about 10 minutes to reach their targets on our territory.”