Russian authorities said Thursday that they “are not ruling out any option” in the event of a The United States will take the step of placing long-range weapons in Germany in 2026including the possibility of deploying nuclear-capable missiles, after stressing last week that it could consider a “military response” if Washington takes such a step.
“I do not rule out any option,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, when asked about the Possible deployment of nuclear missiles if the United States complies with his announcement, while stressing that these actions represent “a total destruction of the agreements on arms control in the area.”
“In this situation, taking into account the combined capabilities of NATO member countries, we must calibrate our responses, without any internal limitations in terms of what, where and when can and should be deployed. That is, the options must be as wide as possible,” he said, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
He noted that this position on the part of Moscow “is not a threat to anyone, but a way to find the most effective algorithm, also in terms of costs, to respond to changing challenges.” Ryabkov also guaranteed that the Russian authorities will ensure security in the enclave of Kaliningradwhich “has long attracted the attention of opponents.”
“If the representatives of the German government consider it justified to initiate escalatory measures under the pretext of what is happening in this region, we will respond with compensatory measures in the form that we consider most acceptable,” he stressed. “Nothing will stop us from solving the problems for our security along the entire perimeter of Russia’s borders,” he concluded.
Ryabkov himself said last week that “the nature of Russia’s reaction” if the United States takes such a step, which would mean the first American deployment of such weapons in Germany since the end of the Cold War, “will be decided calmly and professionally.”
The US-German announcement stresses that this deployment is intended to demonstrate Washington’s “commitment” to NATO and its contributions to “European integrated deterrence” and specifies that “these long-range conventional units will include SM-6 (missiles), Tomahawk and developed hypersonic weapons, which have a significantly greater range than current ground-based materials in Europe.”
Besides, The United States and four European countries — the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Romania — The US announced on Wednesday that it will send Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine following the latest wave of Russian attacks that left nearly 40 dead and 170 wounded on Monday, as part of the invasion unleashed in February 2022 by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
