The Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the United States against deploying long-range missiles in Germany. He emphasized that, in such a case, Russia would resume the production of intermediate-range missiles and position similar weapons within striking distance of the West.
On July 10, the U.S. announced it would begin to deploy long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026 as part of a prolonged militarization that will include SM-6 missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and the development of hypersonic weapons.
During a speech on Sunday to sailors from Russia, China, Algeria, and India at the celebration of Russian Navy Day in Saint Petersburg, Putin stated that the U.S. risks triggering a missile crisis similar to that which occurred during the Cold War. “The flight time to targets on our territory for such missiles, which in the future may be equipped with nuclear weapons, will be about 10 minutes,” he said. “We will take mirror measures for deployment, taking into account the U.S. actions, their satellites in Europe, and other regions of the world.”
These missiles can travel between 500 and 5,500 kilometers and were subject to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed by the U.S. and the Soviet Union in 1987. Both countries, however, withdrew from this arms control treaty in 2019, accusing each other of violations.
Putin, who sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, views the conflict as part of a historical struggle against the West, which he believes has humiliated Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Ukraine and Western nations assert that Putin is engaged in an imperialist land grab and have pledged to defeat Russia, which currently controls about 18 percent of Ukraine, including Crimea and parts of four eastern regions.
Russian and American diplomats describe the relationship between the two countries as worse than during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Although both powers are calling for de-escalation, they are also accused of taking steps toward escalation.
Putin noted that the U.S. had transferred Typhoon missile systems to Denmark and the Philippines, and he compared the U.S. plans to NATO’s decision to deploy Pershing II launchers in Western Europe in 1979. “This situation resembles events during the Cold War related to the deployment of American intermediate-range missiles in Europe,” Putin stated.
During the Cold War, American Pershing ballistic missiles were stationed in West Germany, and these missiles remained in place until the reunification of Germany and into the 1990s. However, following the end of the Cold War, the U.S. significantly reduced the number of missiles in Europe as the threat from Moscow diminished.
Kremlin officials had already warned in mid-July that the proposed U.S. deployment would mean that European capitals would become targets for Russian missiles. “We are taking secure steps toward the Cold War. All attributes of the Cold War, with direct confrontation, are returning,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to a state television reporter.