Responding to the plan announced at the NATO summit that the US intends to deploy long-range missiles in Germany by 2026, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned on Saturday that European countries would be putting themselves at risk if they accept the deployment of long-range US weapons, adding that the move may make European capitals targets for Russia missiles in a repeat of a Cold War-like confrontation. Peskov spoke of a “paradox” in which “Europe is a target for our missiles, our country is a target for US missiles in Europe.”
Asked by Russian state TV about the possibility of the US deploying hypersonic missiles to Europe, Peskov said, “We have enough potential to deter these missiles. But the capitals of these (European) states are potential victims,” Reuters reported.
Peskov’s remarks came following a joint statement issued by the US and Germany at NATO’s 75th-anniversary summit that the US will begin episodic deployments of the long-range fire capabilities of its Multi-Domain Task Force in Germany in 2026 as part of planning for the enduring stationing of these capabilities in the future. When fully developed, these conventional long-range fire units will include SM-6, Tomahawk, and developmental hypersonic weapons, which have significantly longer ranges than current land-based fires in Europe, per the White House.
Peskov also hinted that such a confrontation could undermine Europe as a whole — in the same way that the Cold War ended with the Soviet Union’s collapse. “Europe is coming apart. Europe is not living its best moment. In a different configuration, a repeat of history is inevitable,” he said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has hailed the US decision, which marks a return of US cruise missiles to Germany after a 20-year absence despite criticism from members of his Social Democrats.
Responding to the Kremlin’s remarks that the US missile deployment could put European capitals at risk, a US Department of State spokesperson said that the US and NATO “do not seek a military conflict with Russia … but any military action directed against a NATO Ally would trigger an overwhelming response.”
Team BharatShakti (With inputs from Reuters)
