Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned the United States about the potential deployment of long-range missiles in Germany. He stated that if this occurs, Moscow would resume the production of intermediate-range nuclear weapons and position similar missiles within striking distance of the West, according to Al Jazeera.
Earlier this month, the US announced plans to begin deploying long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026 as part of a broader militarization effort, which will include SM-6 and Tomahawk cruise missiles, and developmental hypersonic weapons. Vladimir Putin, during his speech to sailors from Russia, China, Algeria and India St. Petersburg to commemorate Russian Navy Day, Putin warned that this action could provoke a “Cold War-style missile crisis.”
“The flight time to targets on our territory of such missiles, which in the future may be equipped with nuclear warheads, will be about 10 minutes,” Putin said, ANI reported.
“We will take mirror measures to deploy, taking into account the actions of the United States, its satellites in Europe and in other regions of the world,” the Russian President added.
Notably, these missiles, capable of travelling distances between 500 and 5,500 km (310-3,420 miles), were addressed in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed by the US and the Soviet Union in 1987. However, both Washington and Moscow withdrew from the treaty in 2019, each accusing the other of violations, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Putin, who launched a military campaign in Ukraine in 2022, frames the conflict as a “historic struggle” with the West, claiming that Russia was humiliated after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 as the West encroached on what he views as Moscow’s sphere of influence.