US Deploys Long-range Missiles In Germany, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister: We Will Do Everything To Hit The Threat

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Ryabkov. (Wikimedia Commons/CTBTO/Sophie Paris)

JAKARTA - Russia will do everything it can to reverse the threat to its territory, in response to the US long-range missile deployment plan in Germany, including not ruling out the possibility of deploying a new nuclear missile, Deputy Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday.

"I did not rule out the possibility," he said, when asked if Russia could deploy nuclear missiles in response to the deployment of US missiles in Germany.

The Interfax news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying the defense of Russia's Kaliningrad region, flanked by members of NATO Poland and Lithuania, was a special focus.

Ryabkov said Russia would choose from the widest possible options to draw up the most effective response to US moves, including in terms of costs.

He said, Kaliningrad, Russia's westernmost cut off from other lands, "has long attracted unhealthy attention from our opponents".

"Kaliningrad is no exception in terms of our 100 percent determination to do everything necessary to push back those who may have an aggressive plan and who are trying to provoke us to take certain unwanted steps by anyone and are full of further complications," Ryabkov said., quoted from Reuters.

The United States said last week it would begin deploying weapons in Germany starting in 2026 which will include SM-6, Tomahawk, and new hypersonic missiles to demonstrate its commitment to NATO and Europe's defense.

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

The missiles Russia and the United States are planning to deploy are medium-range land weapons banned under the 1987 US-Soviet agreement. The US left the agreement in 2019, accusing Russia of a violation Moscow denies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that Moscow would continue production of short and medium-range land missiles and decide where to place them if needed. Most Russian missile systems are capable of being fitted with conventional or nuclear warheads.

Earlier, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday the decision to deploy a US long-range missile in Germany starting in 2026 was a response to the deployment of the Iskander tactical missile system in Russia's Kaliningrad Region.

"What the United States will do in Germany starting in 2026 is nothing but a response to the Russian threat represented by the deployment of the Iskander missile in Kaliningrad," he said in an interview with Luxembourg-based Tageblatt newspaper.

Pistorius further said Germany had "never faced a problem with the deployment of weapons for 35 years." According to him, the existence of Uncle Sam's country missile in Germany can be explained with the need for nuclear deterrence.

"When everyone realizes Germany and NATO are able to defend themselves successfully, this will reduce the chances of an attack on us," he said.

When asked where US cruise and supersonic missiles would be stationed in Germany, he said: "It has not been decided yet."

"The US is currently making preparations for the deployment of these weapons to Germany. However, I want to make it clear: this is a conventional weapon," Pistorius said.

He added that the German leadership "will do everything possible to prevent an escalation of tensions." In his view, if "it becomes clear to everyone" that Germany and NATO are capable of defending themselves, it will reduce the chances of an attack on them.