Official announcements from the Russian government or verified reports from international defense monitoring agencies

Putin Warns US of Cold War Crisis Over 2026 Missile Deployment in Germany

Jul 28, 2024, 12:00 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a stern warning to the United States regarding its plans to deploy long-range missiles in Germany by 2026. Speaking at the Navy Day celebrations in St. Petersburg, Putin stated that if Washington proceeds with the deployment, Russia will consider itself released from its self-imposed moratorium on deploying intermediate and shorter-range missiles. He emphasized that Russia would station similar missiles within striking distance of the West, potentially relaunching the production of intermediate-range nuclear weapons and equipping its fleet with hypersonic missiles. The Russian leader highlighted that important Russian facilities would be within reach of US missiles in Germany, with a flight time of about 10 minutes. This development has raised concerns about a potential new Cold War-style missile crisis.