Putin Threatens to Produce More Nuclear Weapons, Here’s Germany’s Response

BERLIN – President of Russia Vladimir Putin threaten to lift the moratorium and resume production nuclear weapons. This threat is a response to the United States’ (US) decision to deploy long-range missiles, including Tomahawks, to Germany starting in 2026.

The German government says Berlin will not be intimidated by Putin’s threats.

“We will not be intimidated by such statements,” German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said at a press conference Monday, as reported by AFPTuesday (30/7/2024).

In early July, Washington and Berlin announced that the periodic deployment of US long-range missiles, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, SM-6s and hypersonic missiles to Germany would begin in 2026.

Putin said on Sunday that Russia would resume producing intermediate-range nuclear weapons if the US and German plans went ahead.

“We would consider ourselves freed from the previously adopted unilateral moratorium on the deployment of medium and short-range strike capabilities,” Putin said during a naval parade in St Petersburg.

Putin added that now in Russia the development of a number of such systems is in the final stages.

“We will take similar steps in its deployment, taking into account the actions of the US, its satellites in Europe and in other regions of the world,” Putin continued.

Such missiles, which can travel between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (300-3,400 miles), were the subject of an arms control treaty signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1987—the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

However, both Washington and Moscow withdrew from the INF Treaty in 2019, each accusing the other of violations.

“This type of missile…has been developed and used by Russia for a long time,” Fischer said.

“What we are planning now is a response to prevent these weapons from being used against Germany or any other target,” he added.

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