FALCON POWERS – On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the United States that if it deploys long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026, Russia will place similar missiles in locations from which the West can be easily targeted.
Earlier this month, Washington and Berlin issued a joint statement saying the United States will begin deploying long-range weapons in Germany in 2026 as part of efforts to demonstrate its commitment to NATO and the defense of Europe.
Washington and Berlin said the “incremental deployments” the U.S. will carry out are a precursor to the longer-term deployment of weapons that will include SM-6 missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and advanced hypersonic weapons with longer ranges than current capabilities in Europe.
In a speech to Russian navy personnel, as well as representatives from China, Algeria and India, celebrating Russian Navy Day in St. Petersburg, the former Russian imperial capital, Putin warned the United States that it risked igniting a missile crisis akin to the Cold War with this move.
Putin said the flight time of these missiles to targets on Russian soil would be around 10 minutes, and they may be equipped with nuclear warheads in the future. He said Russia will take reciprocal measures in response, taking into account U.S. actions and its satellites in Europe and other regions of the world.
Putin accused Washington of stoking tensions and said it had deployed Typhoon missile systems to Denmark and the Philippines, comparing the U.S. plans to NATO’s 1979 decision to deploy Pershing 2 missiles in Western Europe.
