Russia may deploy new strike weapons in response to the planned US stationing of longer-range hypersonic missiles in Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday.
In his speech at a naval parade in St. Petersburg, Putin promised “mirror measures” after the United States announced earlier this month that it will begin deploying weapons in 2026, to affirm its commitment to NATO and European defense after the total invasion of Ukraine by Moscow in February 2022.
“If the United States implements such plans, we will consider ourselves free from the previously imposed unilateral moratorium on the deployment of intermediate and short-range strike weapons, including increasing the capabilities of the coastal forces of our navy,” Putin said. He added that Moscow’s development of suitable systems is “in its final stage.”
Both Washington and Moscow have in recent weeks signaled their willingness to deploy intermediate-range ground weapons that were banned for decades under a 1987 U.S.-Soviet treaty. The U.S. withdrew from the deal in 2019, accusing Moscow to carry out missile tests that violated it.
The accusations, which Russia denied, came as tensions rose between Moscow and the West in the wake of the Malaysian plane shot down carrying 298 people over war-torn eastern Ukraine. Ultimately, two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian were convicted for their role in the attack.
Washington and Berlin said in a joint statement this month that U.S. weapons to be placed in Germany would ultimately include SM-6 missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles and “Hypersonic weapons development”including those with significantly greater reach than those currently deployed across Europe.
Most Russian missile systems are capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said last week that the Kremlin does not rule out further deployments of nuclear missiles in response to the US move.
Ryabkov added that the defense of Kaliningrad, Russia’s heavily militarized enclave located between NATO members Poland and Lithuania, was of particular concern.
For years, Putin has called the US deployment of missile infrastructure in Europe an aggressive measure aimed at crippling Moscow’s capabilities. News of the planned deployment of new weapons in Germany came at a NATO summit in Washington earlier this month. At the same event, the allies announced that a new US base in Poland, Ukraine’s western neighbor, is ready for operation and will be capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
