Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stark warning to the United States on Sunday, stating that if Washington goes ahead with its plan to deploy long-range missiles in Germany, Russia will respond by positioning similar missiles within striking distance of Western targets.
This warning follows the U.S. announcement on July 10 that it will begin deploying long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026.
According to Yahoo News, the deployment will include SM-6, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and developmental hypersonic weapons as part of a longer-term strategy.
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During a speech to sailors from Russia, China, Algeria, and India marking Russian Navy Day in St. Petersburg, Putin cautioned that the U.S. move could provoke 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 stated. “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.”
Putin, who launched an invasion of Ukraine in 2022, portrays the conflict as part of a historic confrontation with the West. He argues that the West humiliated Russia following the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991 by encroaching on what he considers Moscow’s sphere of influence.
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Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Putin of an imperial-style land grab, vowing to defeat Russia, which currently occupies about 18% of Ukraine, including Crimea and parts of four eastern regions.
Russia maintains that these territories, once part of the Russian Empire, are now permanently reintegrated into Russia and will never be returned, the outlet reported.
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