Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the United States against deploying long-range missiles in Germany. He stated that if this happens, Russia would resume producing intermediate-range nuclear weapons and place similar missiles close to the West.

The US announced on July 10 that it would begin deploying long-range missiles in Germany from 2026. This plan includes SM-6, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and developmental hypersonic weapons.

These types of missiles, with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km, were once banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed by the US and the Soviet Union in 1987. However, both countries withdrew from the treaty in 2019, accusing each other of violations.

Putin, who initiated military action in Ukraine in 2022, views the conflict as part of a historical struggle with the West, which he believes humiliated Russia after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991 by encroaching on its sphere of influence. Ukraine and the West, on the other hand, accuse Putin of seeking to expand Russian territory. They aim to defeat Russia, which currently controls about 18% of Ukraine, including Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine.

Russian and US diplomats agree that relations are worse than during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. While both sides call for de-escalation, they are also accused of actions that increase tensions.

Putin mentioned that the US had transferred Typhon missile systems to Denmark and the Philippines, likening this to NATO’s decision to deploy Pershing II missiles in Western Europe in 1979. The Soviet leadership, including General Secretary Yuri Andropov, feared these deployments were part of a US plan to decapitate the Soviet Union’s leadership.

“This situation is reminiscent of the Cold War events related to the deployment of American medium-range Pershing missiles in Europe,” Putin said.

During the Cold War, the US stationed Pershing ballistic missiles in West Germany, continuing through Germany’s reunification and into the 1990s. However, after the Cold War ended, the US significantly reduced its missile presence in Europe as the threat from Moscow diminished.

The Kremlin warned in mid-July that the proposed US missile deployment would make European capitals targets for Russian missiles. “We are taking steady steps towards the Cold War. All the attributes of the Cold War with direct confrontation are returning,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.