Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov indicated on Thursday that Moscow might deploy nuclear missiles in response to the US's plan to deploy missile systems to Germany in 2026, which were previously banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
“I don’t rule anything out,” Ryabkov said when asked about the possibility of a nuclear deployment. He referenced Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea bordered by Lithuania and Poland, suggesting it could be a potential site for Russian weapon deployment. “Kaliningrad is no exception in terms of our 100 percent determination to do everything necessary to push back those who may harbor aggressive plans and who try to provoke us to take certain steps that are undesirable for anyone and are fraught with further complications,” Ryabkov stated.
The INF Treaty, from which the US withdrew in 2019, prohibited land-based missile systems with ranges between 310 and 3,400 miles. The planned US deployment to Germany includes a land-based version of nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles, with a range of about 1,000 miles, typically used by US Navy ships and submarines. Announced during last week's NATO summit in Washington, the deployment will also include SM-6 missiles and "developmental hypersonic weapons." The US likely plans to use a Typhon launcher, a covert system concealed in a 40-foot shipping container, capable of firing Tomahawks and SM-6 missiles. The SM-6 can hit targets up to 290 miles away, within the previously banned INF range.
The US initially cited alleged Russian violations of the INF Treaty, specifically the development of the ground-launched 9M729 cruise missile, which Russian officials claimed had a maximum range of 298 miles, as justification for its withdrawal. Conversely, Russia accused the US of violating the INF by deploying Aegis Ashore missile defense systems in Romania and Poland, which use Mk-41 vertical launchers capable of launching Tomahawk missiles.
The Trump administration exited the treaty in August 2019 and began testing previously banned missile systems soon after. The US's withdrawal was seen as a strategic move to deploy intermediate-range missiles near China, prompting Russia to propose a moratorium on INF missile deployments in Europe—a proposal the US has yet to accept.
