The US has said it plans to station long-range and hypersonic missiles in Germany.
Russia may deploy new strike weapons in response to the planned US stationing of longer-range and hypersonic missiles in Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday.
Speaking at a naval parade in St Petersburg, Putin vowed “mirror measures” after the US announced that it will start deploying the weapons in 2026.
The US said its plan affirms its commitment to NATO and European defence following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Russian president made it clear that such a move would free Moscow from the unilateral moratorium on the deployment of intermediate and shorter-range strike weapons.
He added that Moscow’s development of suitable systems is “in its final stage”.
The news about the stationing of new weapons in Germany came at a NATO summit in Washington earlier this month. At the same event, allies announced that a new US base in Poland is ready to enter operation and will be capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.
Both Washington and Moscow have in recent weeks signalled readiness to deploy intermediate-range ground-based weapons, which were previously banned for decades under the 1987 US-Soviet treaty.
The US pulled out of the agreement in 2019 after accusing Moscow of conducting missile tests which violated it following tensions that stemmed from the shooting down of a Malaysian passenger airline in eastern Ukraine.
Two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian were ultimately convicted over their role in the attack.
Washington and Berlin said in a joint statement this month that the weapons the US plans to place in Germany include SM-6 missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and developmental hypersonic weapons — including those with a significantly longer range than the ones currently deployed across Europe.
Most of Russia’s missile systems are capable of carrying either conventional or nuclear warheads.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov said that defending Kaliningrad, Russia’s heavily militarised exclave wedged between NATO members Poland and Lithuania, was of particular concern.
Putin has previously cast the deployment of US missiles in Europe as an aggressive move aimed at Russia.