Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Washington that the Russian Federation will stop implementing a unilateral moratorium on the deployment of medium- and shorter-range strike weapons in the event of the appearance of long-range American missiles in Germany.
“It is worth noting the statement of the US administration and the German government on plans to deploy long-range American precision missile systems on the territory of Germany from 2026“, said the Russian head of state during a naval parade in St. Petersburg.
Putin stressed that within the range of such weapons “important Russian government and military control facilities, administrative and industrial centers, and defense infrastructure“ will be. "And the flight time to targets on our territory for such missiles, which in the future may be equipped with nuclear warheads, will be about 10 minutes," the Russian head of state said, quoted by TASS.
“If the United States implements such plans, we will consider ourselves free from the previously adopted unilateral moratorium on the deployment of medium- and shorter-range strike weapons, including increasing the capabilities of our fleet's coastal forces,“ Putin said.
In his speech, Putin said that Washington was inciting tension and had transferred Typhoon missile systems to Denmark and the Philippines, and compared the American intentions to NATO's decision to base Pershing 2 missile systems in Western Europe in 1979. At the time, the Soviet leadership, including the General Secretary of the CPSU Yuri Andropov, feared that the deployment of the "Pershing 2" was part of a complex US-led plan to decapitate the USSR by removing its political and military leadership. "The situation is reminiscent of the events of the Cold War when the US medium-range "Pershing" missiles were deployed in Europe," Putin said.
Russia must first stop the war in Ukraine if it wants to avoid the deployment of US long-range missiles in Germany, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters a few days ago. "The first thing Russia must do is stop the terrible war of aggression against Ukraine and abandon the attempt to conquer the entire country," Scholz said.
The White House had earlier announced that it would deploy from 2026 new weapons in Germany, in particular, it will be about SM-6 missiles, which are reusable surface-to-air missiles with a long range, “Tomahawk“ missiles, as well as hypersonic missiles, which are in the process of development. According to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, the missiles that the US will deploy are a temporary solution until Germany develops its own. Scholz also said that this will give Germany the time it needs. The German Chancellor recalled that it was Russia that left the arms treaties.