On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a threat, saying that if the US confirmed that it intended to send missiles to Germany or other parts of Europe, he would start producing nuclear weapons with an intermediate range.
Putin declared during a naval parade in Saint Petersburg, “If the United States carries out such plans, we will consider ourselves liberated from the unilateral moratorium previously adopted on the deployment of medium- and short-range strike capabilities.”
Putin went on to say that the development of a number of this systems is in the final stages in Russia.
The Russian president issued a warning, saying, “We will take mirror measures in deploying them, taking into account the actions of the US, its satellites in Europe and in other regions of the world.”
These missiles, which had a range of 500–5,500 kilometres (300–3,400 miles), were covered by an arms limitation agreement that the US and the USSR agreed in 1987.
However, in 2019, Moscow and Washington both pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, accusing the other of breaking it.
Subsequently, Russia declared that it would not resume producing these missiles as long as US missiles remained stationed abroad.
The “episodic deployments” of long-range US missiles, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, to Germany were scheduled to start in 2026, according to announcements made in early July by Washington and Berlin.
The president of Russia further stated that during previous drills, the US had placed Typhon mid-range missile systems in Denmark and the Philippines.
“This situation evokes memories of Cold War events associated with the American Pershing medium-range missiles stationed in Europe,” stated Putin.
In the 1980s, during the height of the Cold War, US Pershing ballistic missiles were stationed in West Germany.
Even after Germany was reunited, US missiles remained in place until the 1990s.
However, as the threat posed by Moscow diminished after the end of the Cold War, the US dramatically decreased the number of missiles it had stationed in Europe.
The Russian government had previously issued a warning in mid-July, stating that the planned US deployment would make European capitals a target for Russian missiles.
We are moving closer and closer to the Cold War. The direct confrontation and all the characteristics of the Cold War are coming back, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a state TV reporter.
In Essence
Putin’s threat to resume production and deployment of intermediate-range nuclear weapons is a direct response to perceived U.S. actions in Europe, particularly the potential stationing of missiles in Germany and other regions. This highlights the strategic calculations and mutual suspicions that drive military posturing between nuclear powers.
The prospect of new missile deployments in Europe raises significant security concerns for European countries, which could become potential targets in a renewed arms race.
The deployment of such weapons would likely lead to heightened tensions and a destabilizing security environment in the region.
