US Deploys Long-range Missiles In Germany, Russia: Without Emotions, We Will Develop Military Response

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Ryabkov. (Wikimedia Commons/Ballk MSC)

JAKARTA - Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia would give a military response to plans to deploy US long-range missiles in Germany, as quoted on Thursday.

The United States and Germany said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the United States would begin deploying long-range missiles in Germany by 2026, to demonstrate their commitment to NATO and Europe's defense.

Ryabkov called the United States' move an escalation measure aimed at intimidating Russia.

"Without nervousness, without emotion, we will develop a military response, first of all, to this new game," Ryabkov said.

As previously reported, Germany and the US said the "episodic placement" was preparation for long-term deployments that would include SM-6 cruise missiles, Tomahawks, and hypersonic weapons with a longer range than the current capabilities in Europe.

Ground-based missiles with a range exceeding 500 kilometers are prohibited until 2019, based on the Medium-Range Nuclear Power Treaty (INF) signed by Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union and former US President Ronald Reagan in 1987.

The agreement marks the first time the two superpowers have agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenal and eliminate the entire category of weapons.

In line with signatories, Germany, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic destroyed their missiles in the 1990s, which Slovak and Bulgaria followed.

Later, the United States withdrew from the INF Agreement in 2019, saying Moscow violated the agreement, citing the development of the 9M729 land cruise missile by Russia known in NATO as the SSC-8.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied the allegations and later imposed a moratorium on the development of its own missile previously banned by INF agreements, ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500 km to 5,500 km.

By the end of June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would continue production of medium and short-range nuclear-capable missiles after the United States brought similar missiles to Europe and Asia.

President Putin said Russia had promised not to deploy the missile, but the United States had resumed production, brought it to Denmark for training and also brought it to the Philippines.