Russia threatens ‘Cold War crisis’ if US deploys missiles in Germany

Russia has threatened to deploy medium-range missiles near NATO borders in response to possible U.S. missile systems in Germany, President Vladimir Putin announced during a naval parade in St. Petersburg.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Main Naval Parade marking the Russian Navy Day in St. Petersburg, Russia, 28 July 2024.

EPA/VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/KREMLIN / POOL

Putin said the move would be a tit-for-tat response to the U.S. decision on July 10 to deploy long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026.

He warned that this U.S. deployment risked triggering 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 was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"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," he added.

In 1987, the Soviet Union and the United States signed an agreement to eliminate medium-range missiles. However, Western experts accused Moscow of violating the treaty in 2017-2018, leading to its eventual collapse.

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Source: IAR, Reuters