Russia has expressed its intention to counteract the expansion of NATO infrastructure in Europe, citing the alliance’s continuous movement towards its borders amid escalating tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov raised concerns about NATO’s decisions to establish logistics hubs in Black Sea cities and open additional facilities in Europe during this week’s summit in Washington, DC.
He emphasized the need for Russia to respond effectively to deter and counteract NATO’s actions, which pose a significant threat to national security.
The announcement of episodic deployments of long-range missiles in Germany from 2026, including surface-to-air SM-6 missiles and hypersonic weapons, further heightened tensions.
In addition, NATO declared the readiness of a new US air defense base in northern Poland to detect and intercept ballistic missile attacks as part of its missile shield.
Peskov criticized NATO for maintaining a confrontational stance, stating that the alliance was created for confrontation and continues to uphold this purpose.
President Vladimir Putin previously mentioned the possibility of resuming production of intermediate-range nuclear-capable missiles in response to similar actions by the US in Europe and Asia.
He highlighted the US’s actions of deploying such missiles in Denmark and the Philippines, despite previous agreements not to station them in Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad.
The ban on ground-based missiles with a range exceeding 500km under the INF Treaty signed in 1987 between the Soviet Union and the US has been a point of contention.
Link from www.aljazeera.com