Putin threatens to retaliate if U.S. deploys long-range missiles in Germany

Transcript

00:00Close to NATO's European nations should Germany set up US-made long-range missiles.

00:06Such weapons have been banned for decades under a Cold War treaty that VOA's Arash

00:10Arabasady hashes over in this report.

00:17Sunday in St. Petersburg, Russian state television broadcast footage of the country's fleets

00:23at the annual Navy Day celebration.

00:26In attendance were officers from 31 other countries, including China, India, Iran, and

00:32South Africa.

00:33Showcasing the Russian Navy, missiles fired from various ships of the Black Sea Fleet,

00:38and jets dropped bombs from above.

00:40Overshadowing Russia's pomp and circumstance of the day is a recent plan revealed by the

00:46United States to deploy long-range missiles to Germany by 2026.

00:51To outside observers, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin, this may be history repeating

00:56itself.

01:02The situation recalls the events of the Cold War era.

01:05If the U.S. implements such plans, we will consider ourselves free from the previously

01:10imposed one-sided moratorium on the deployment of medium and shorter range strike systems.

01:17We will take mirror measures for their deployment.

01:20In a recent joint statement from the White House, U.S. and German officials said exercising

01:25advanced capabilities would demonstrate a commitment to NATO and its contributions to

01:30European integrated deterrence.

01:33Despite the Kremlin's latest round of saber-rattling, the Russian Defense Ministry began releasing

01:38videos showcasing intercontinental ballistic missile tests days before its 2022 invasion

01:45of Ukraine.

01:46Putin at the time discussed plans to assemble his army's so-called deterrent force to

01:51potentially include a nuclear component.

01:53It is language that NATO calls dangerous and irresponsible.

01:57Since the onset of the Russian invasion, Western powers have by far been Ukraine's largest

02:03supporters in terms of money and material.

02:06NATO members recently pledged an additional $43 billion next year with plans for sustained

02:12support to follow.

02:14All of this support will make Ukraine stronger and more capable.

02:18In fact, everything we are doing, the command, the pledge, more military aid, more security

02:25agreements and improved interoperability put in place the foundations for Ukraine to prevail.

02:32While St. Petersburg seemed pleased by its military display, experts worry the readiness

02:38of both Russia and the U.S. to deploy intermediate-range weapons could spark a new arms race.

02:44Arash Arabesati, DOA News.