(CTN News) – Vladimir Putin has threatened to place Russian long-range missiles within striking range of the West if the US places long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026.
Washington and Berlin announced earlier this month that the US will begin stationing long-range fire capabilities in Germany in 2026 as a way to show its support for NATO and European defense.
Putin warns US against deploying long-range missiles in Germany
According to Washington and Berlin, the US’s “episodic deployments” are a prelude to the longer-term stationing of such capabilities, which will include the SM-6 and Tomahawk cruise missiles as well as developing hypersonic weapons with a greater range than those already in use in Europe.
In a speech on Sunday in the former imperial capital of St. Petersburg, Russia, China, Algeria, and India to commemorate Russian Navy Day, Putin warned the US that the action ran the danger of inciting a missile crisis like the one that occurred during the Cold War.
According to Putin, “the flight time of such missiles, which in the future may be equipped with nuclear warheads, to targets on our territory will be about 10 minutes.” “We will deploy our satellites in Europe and other parts of the world in a mirrored manner, considering the actions of the United States.”
Putin contrasted the US intentions with the NATO decision to place Pershing II launchers in western Europe in 1979 and said that the US was inflaming tensions by transferring Typhon missile systems to Denmark and the Philippines.
The Soviet leadership, which included Yuri Andropov, the general secretary, felt that the deployment of Pershing IIs was part of a complex plot orchestrated by the United States to remove the Soviet Union’s military and political leadership.
Putin said, “This situation reminds me of the events of the Cold War involving the American medium-range Pershing missiles stationed in Europe.”
The president of Russia reiterated a previous threat, saying that if the US delivered comparable missiles to Europe and Asia, Moscow may start producing nuclear-capable missiles with intermediate and shorter ranges again and decide where to place them.
Source: Theguardian
