If the United States proceeds with its plan to deploy long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026, Russia may restart the production of medium-range nuclear weapons and position them in countries within striking distance of the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Sunday.
Putin's remarks were reported by TASS during a Navy Day parade in St. Petersburg.
He warned of a potential return to Cold War-style missile crises, stating that Russia would respond to the US weapons in Germany with similar actions.
A Return to Cold War Tensions
“If the United States implements such plans, we will consider ourselves free from the previous unilateral moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range strike weapons,” Putin declared.
These medium- and short-range nuclear weapons were banned in 1987 under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
This treaty reduced the nuclear arsenals of both countries.
The US withdrew from the treaty in 2019, accusing Russia of violating it by developing a new cruise missile, which Moscow denied.
US Missile Deployment Plans
The latest tensions follow the US announcement earlier in July to begin “episodic deployments” of SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles, along with “developmental hypersonic weapons” in Germany starting in 2026.
This move is part of the US's commitment to NATO and aims to bolster European integrated deterrence.
The announcement angered the Kremlin.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov accused the West of escalating tensions and making false claims about Russia's security threats.
Putin's aide Nikolay Patrushev said Russia was simply responding to US plans, while former President Dmitry Medvedev stated that Russia's goal was to prevent the "maniacs in Washington" from causing a global disaster.
