Amid Ukraine crisis, Russia threatens to deploy mid-range nuclear missiles in Europe
- Moscow’s warning raises the spectre of an arms build-up on the continent, with tensions at their worst since the end of the Cold War
- Such weapons were banned in Europe under a 1987 treaty, but the US withdrew from the pact in 2019 over Russia’s development of the ‘Screwdriver’ missile
Russia said it may be forced to deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe in response to what it sees as Nato’s plans to do the same.
The warning from Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Monday raised the risk of a new arms build-up on the continent, with East-West tensions at their worst since the Cold War ended three decades ago.
Ryabkov said Russia would be forced to act if the West declined to join it in a moratorium on intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) in Europe – part of a package of security guarantees it is seeking as the price for defusing the crisis over Ukraine.
Lack of progress towards a political and diplomatic solution would lead Russia to respond in a military way, with military technology, Ryabkov told Russia’s RIA news agency.
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“That is, it will be a confrontation, this will be the next round,” he said, referring to the potential deployment of the missiles by Russia.