Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned the United States against deploying long-range missiles in Germany, threatening that Russia would resume the production of intermediate-range nuclear weapons and position similar missiles close to Western targets if such actions occur.
On July 10, the US announced plans to deploy long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026 as part of a broader militarization strategy, which includes SM-6, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and developmental hypersonic weapons.
During a speech to sailors from Russia, China, Algeria, and India in St. Petersburg to commemorate Russian Navy Day, Putin warned that this move by the US could spark 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. “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.”
Missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 km (310-3,420 miles) were once regulated by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed by the US and the Soviet Union in 1987. However, both nations withdrew from the treaty in 2019, each accusing the other of violations.
Putin, who ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, frames the conflict as part of a historic struggle with the West, accusing it of humiliating Russia after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991 by encroaching on Moscow’s sphere of influence. Ukraine and the West view Putin’s actions as an imperialistic land grab and are committed to defeating Russia, which currently occupies about 18 percent of Ukraine, including Crimea and parts of four eastern regions.
Russia claims that these lands, once part of the Russian empire, are now again part of Russia and will never be returned.
Diplomats from Russia and the US agree that relations are worse than during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, with both sides calling for de-escalation while simultaneously being accused of escalating tensions.
Putin noted that the US had transferred Typhon missile systems to Denmark and the Philippines and likened the US plans to NATO’s decision to deploy Pershing II launchers in Western Europe in 1979.
