Putin Vows 'Mirror Measures' After US Plans Long-Range Missiles For Germany
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday issued another fresh warning in the wake of the United States weeks ago announcing it intends to deploy long-range missiles in Germany in violation of prior Cold War era missile treaties.
He has vowed that Russia's military will in turn place long-range missiles within striking distance of the West. "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 warned, announcing his intent to 'mirror' any such US actions.
"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 said, as translated in Reuters.
Putin also of late frequently warned that a Cold War 2.0 showdown is emerging due to the threatening behavior of the West related to the Ukraine conflict: "This situation is reminiscent of the events of the Cold War related to the deployment of American medium–range Pershing missiles in Europe," he said.
These comments come at the same time that Russian warships have increased their port visits to Cuba, which has involved groups of Russian military vessels not far off of America's east coast.
Just like in the original Cold War, Cuba could become a base of Russian missiles in the potential highly dangerous return of a Cuban missile crisis scenario.
In early July, the Pentagon had unveiled near and long-term plans to station additional missiles in Europe, to include SM-6, Tomahawk cruise missiles and developmental hypersonic weapons placed in Germany starting in 2026.
As for Germany, which finds itself in the middle of these tit-for-tat threats and warnings, its foreign ministry has said it will not be intimidated by Moscow.
"This type of missile... had already been developed and deployed long ago" by Russia, foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told a press conference. "What we are now planning is a response to deter these weapons from being used against Germany or other targets," he emphasized.
The end of Cold War era treaty was negotiated precisely to avoid and reduce weapons build-up in Europe...
In mid-July, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov stated on Telegram that the US moving missiles to Germany "increases the risks of a missile arms race," given that it could unleash "uncontrolled escalation amid dangerously soaring Russia-NATO tensions."
Antonov further warned that this brings European states like Germany in the crosshairs and that Moscow's patience is limited. The ambassador posed: "Doesn’t Germany understand that the emergence of American missile assets on German soil will lead to these facilities ending up in Russian crosshairs? This is not saber-rattling, it is the simple logic of a normal person."