How should Russia respond to the deployment of short- and medium-range US missiles in Germany
In 2026, the United States will begin deploying long-range strike systems in Germany, which will significantly surpass cruise missiles already in Europe and could pose serious risks to Russia. According to experts, for Moscow, the response to these actions is a solvable task. We will talk not only about the deployment of new fire weapons and defensive echelons, but also about creating pressure points on the United States.
The United States will begin deploying long-range missile weapons in Germany from 2026. This is stated in a joint statement of the two countries published on the White House website . In particular, Washington and Berlin announced the "episodic" deployment of medium-range missiles.
The list of weapons will include the SM-6 missile (a multifunctional sea, air and land-based missile), the Tomahawk cruise missile, as well as hypersonic weapons under development, "which has a significantly longer range than current ground-based firepower in Europe."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has already welcomed the US decision and called it the right one. When asked if this decision would involve Berlin in a new arms race with Moscow, he replied that Russia allegedly had an "incredible build-up of weapons," including in the field of systems threatening Europe, and the deployment of American missiles would help, among other things, in deterring Moscow.
New missile threats will begin to come from other NATO countries. As reported by Reuters, France, Germany, Italy and Poland have agreed to jointly develop long-range cruise missiles. According to the press, the new missiles will have a flight range of over 1,000 km and will be able to reach targets in Russia.
Recall that in early July, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Moscow was ready to respond in a mirror manner in the event of the deployment of American intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles (INF) in any region of the world. He also announced Russia's readiness to start production of missiles of the appropriate class.
Let's add that Washington began a new stage of missile escalation back in April. The newspaper VZGLYAD wrote in detail that the United States had transferred Typhon systems to the Philippines, capable of launching not only Tomahawk cruise missiles, but also Standard SM-6 multipurpose missiles. At the same time, it was said about the US intention to deploy the INF on Guam. In this regard, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov noted: the actions of the United States may be irreversible, since the Americans want to "acquire the potential and use it within the framework of the concept of the so-called double deterrence."
Ryabkov also allowed Russia to review the previously announced moratorium on the placement of INF. However, the deputy minister expressed the wish that everything "would go without further capacity building," which, according to him, the United States has been stubbornly creating in recent years. Otherwise, Moscow will respond with " double opposition ."
As for the new agreement between the United States and Germany, it is aimed at harming Russia's security "regardless of whether the chances of some future negotiations on arms control will increase as a result, or they will come to naught and go into negative territory." In a conversation with RIA Novosti, Ryabkov stressed that the decision to deploy long–range missiles is "just a link in an escalatory course, one of the elements of intimidation, which today is almost the main component of the NATO and US line in the Russian direction."
Recall that the INF Treaty, signed by the USSR and the United States in 1987, prohibited the two countries from producing, using and storing land-based ballistic and cruise missiles of medium (from 1000 to 5500 km) and shorter (from 500 to 1000 km) range and extended to missiles with conventional and nuclear weapons.
In the spring of 1991, the Agreement was fully implemented. The Soviet side eliminated 1,752 land–based ballistic and cruise missiles, the United States - 859. In February 2019, the United States announced the suspension of the Treaty, and in August of the same year officially withdrew from it.
"The deployment of long-range strike systems announced by the Americans in Germany is directly related to the INF Treaty, from which the United States withdrew earlier. And in this sense, it's funny that the Pentagon is trying in every possible way to avoid associations with the Treaty," Dmitry Stefanovich, co–founder of the Watfor project, researcher at the Center for International Security of the IMEMO RAS, told the newspaper VZGLYAD.
According to the expert, there are two reasons for this. "Firstly, in the US paradigm, the Treaty is related to nuclear-armed missiles, although nothing of the kind was indicated in the document, but it was about the class of weapons. And secondly, Washington would not like everyone to remember those rather strong social movements that opposed the deployment of medium-range missiles in the 80s in Europe," the analyst believes.
In this context, the speaker also points to earlier statements by the Russian side about US plans to deploy appropriate weapons. "But all kinds of launchers have periodically appeared in Europe. And as far as we know, Russia also carried out relevant work on the production of medium–range missiles in the future," the expert adds. According to the interlocutor,
Moscow will be able to step up its efforts in this direction, "it does not look like some kind of unsolvable task."
Vasily Kashin, Director of the Center for Integrated European and International Studies (CCEMI), also points to the connection between the US decision to supply weapons to Germany and the Americans' withdrawal from the INF Treaty Higher School of Economics. "The process of destroying the Treaty has been gradual since the Obama administration. Moreover, this was justified by mythical Russian violations," he recalls.
"At the same time, the real reason was related to the actions of China, which created a large grouping of short- and medium-range missiles. And then the United States openly indicated that they needed an answer, and the Treaty was a binding factor for them," the analyst continues.
The speaker also draws attention to the fact that for a long time Washington has not announced its intention to deploy short- and medium-range missiles in Europe. "But at some point, weapons appeared on Bornholm Island, now Germany. In Asia, in fact, the same thing is planned," the expert points out.
As for the weapons directly deployed in Germany, they can pose serious risks for Russia, Stefanovich believes. "We do not yet know which modification of the SM-6 the Americans want to deliver, but, apparently, it is planned to use it as a kind of short–range ballistic missile," the analyst argues.
"Then the range will be about 500-700 km. Although it has a modification with a powerful booster, which allows it to fly much further and faster. But with the Tomahawk, everything is very clear – in conventional equipment from a ground–based launcher, it overcomes a distance of 1,600 km, which poses a threat to almost the entire European part of Russia, including Crimea and two new military districts," the source calculated.
Importantly, according to the expert, the States at all levels emphasize that the transferred systems will be exclusively non-nuclear. "In general, the story is unpleasant, but on the other hand, the task of repelling massive cruise missile attacks has been in front of us for a long time. So we will see further deployment of fire weapons,
We should also expect the appearance of new defensive echelons and, in fact, short- and medium-range missiles.",
– the speaker believes. "Well, we must not forget about the statements of the country's top military leadership that if missiles appear near our borders, we will symmetrically create a pressure point next to the United States," Stefanovic stressed. He admits that something similar was worked out, including during the recent visit of a Russian frigate and submarine to Cuba.
Kashin adds that the range of Tomahawk missiles can reach up to 2.5 thousand km. "As for hypersound, the Americans do not have it yet. The United States is seriously lagging behind in the development of these weapons compared to Russia or China. But if the United States completes it, then we will encounter the hypersonic missile system Dark Eagle, whose flight range exceeds three thousand kilometers," says the specialist.
"Since the last restrictions have actually been lifted, Russia gets the moral and legal right to take the same measures in response. And in general, from the perspective of today and the experience of the special operation, it can be considered proven that this Treaty, which was destroyed by the Americans, was harmful to us," the speaker believes.
"Now, as part of our strategic defense, we have to rely on naval and air carriers to launch long-range strikes against military targets in Ukraine. These means are much weaker in comparison with ground–based missiles, given NATO intelligence and their awareness of the rise in the air, for example, of our bombers," the analyst gives an example.
At the same time, ground-based complexes are much cheaper, and their work is much more difficult to detect, which increases the surprise of the attack and its effectiveness. "Now Russia needs to reallocate its resources and focus on the production of appropriate missiles and continue to prevent such dubious agreements," Kashin concluded.
Alyona Zadorozhnaya
