Moscow [Russia], June 29: In a televised speech to top Russian security officials, President Putin stressed that Russia needed to start producing missiles previously banned under a now-defunct Cold War-era treaty, according to AFP. Mr Putin said the US had recently sent medium-range missiles , capable of hitting targets at a distance of 500 to 5,500 km, to Denmark for exercises.
"We need to react to this and make a decision about what we should do next in this area. It seems like we need to start producing attack systems like that. Then, based on the actual situation and make decisions about where to deploy them for our security," Mr. Putin said.
Such intermediate-range missiles, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads , were previously banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, but the US withdrew from the INF in 2019, blaming Russia for failing to comply with the terms of the treaty, according to AFP. At the time, Mr Putin said Russia would continue to suspend production of missiles banned under the INF.
President Putin's call for a boost to Russia's military arsenal comes days after Moscow blamed Washington for Ukraine's attack on the Crimean peninsula. Russia said Ukraine fired a US-supplied ATACMS missile armed with cluster munitions, killing four people, according to AFP. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Russia has repeatedly warned Washington and the West that it risks becoming a "direct participant" in the Russia-Ukraine conflict by supplying weapons to Kyiv.
This week, Moscow summoned US ambassador Lynne Tracy to warn of "consequences" after accusing the US of programming and providing data on the ATACMS that targeted Crimea. US officials have denied the accusation and insisted Ukraine makes its own military decisions.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on June 28 that it had "observed an increase in the frequency of flights by US strategic drones over the Black Sea" around Crimea.
Also according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, US drones are "conducting reconnaissance" to help Kyiv use weapons provided by the West to target Russian targets.
The Russian Defense Ministry warned that such actions "increase the risk of direct confrontation" between NATO and Russia, and said the Russian military would be prepared to respond with action.
The US regularly conducts drone flights over the Black Sea, where Washington maintains that such operations are carried out in neutral airspace and in accordance with international law , according to AFP.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper