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Source: Global Times

[Global Times special correspondents in Russia, Germany and the United States Xiao Xinxin, Aoki Li Jun, Global Times special correspondent Liu Yupeng] "Our country is within the sight of missiles deployed by the United States in Europe. We have experienced this before." Russian President's press secretary Peskov said in an interview with Russian media recently, "We have enough ability to stop these missiles. But the potential victims are the capitals of these European countries." With the NATO summit promising to increase military and financial support for Ukraine, especially the United States' announcement on the 10th that it would deploy long-range attack systems in Germany in 2026, Western media generally interpreted Peskov's statement as a warning and threat from the Kremlin. Regarding the US plan to deploy long-range weapons in Germany, Russian media analysts believe that this move may be intended to exert greater deterrence and threats on Russia, trying to disperse Russia's military deployment and capabilities, but it will only lead to a more direct and fierce response from Russia. "Deutsche Welle" is worried that this will trigger a new round of arms race in Europe. Many parties in Germany have expressed concerns about this, and even the ruling coalition has criticized it. "This will not make the world safer," said German Social Democratic Party MP Stegner. "On the contrary, we are entering a spiral where the world is becoming more and more dangerous."

Russian President's Press Secretary Peskov file photo Source: Visual China

EU countries are just targets

According to the website of Russia Today TV on the 13th, Peskov said this in an interview with the host of the "Russia-1" TV channel, who released the relevant interview content through his social media account on the 13th. "There has always been a 'contradiction': the United States has deployed missiles of different types and ranges, usually targeting our country. Correspondingly, our country has identified the European locations (where these missiles are deployed) as targets for our missiles." Peskov explained that Washington has been "profiting" from the escalation (of force), while EU countries have only served as targets in the confrontation.

According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, Peskov also said: "The original cracks in Europe are widening. This is not the best time for Europe. Therefore, the repetition of history is inevitable at different levels." Agence France-Presse said that Peskov was implying that this confrontation between the United States, Europe and Russia could destroy the entire Europe, just as the Cold War ended with the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

In response to Peskov's warning, a US State Department spokesman said that the United States and NATO "do not seek military conflict with Russia... but any military action against NATO allies will provoke an overwhelming response." The spokesman also accused Russia of being "the most significant and direct threat to the security of allies and peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region."

"Peskov threatened to 'target' European capitals in response to US plans to deploy hypersonic missiles in Germany." The British Express said that this worrying development further exacerbated tensions, reminiscent of the Cold War, and brought the world closer to a global conflict.

All the hallmarks of the Cold War are coming back

During the NATO summit held recently, the United States and Germany jointly announced that the United States will deploy long-range attack systems in Germany starting in 2026. These weapons will include Standard-6 missiles, Tomahawk cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons under development. Their range will far exceed any land-based firepower systems currently deployed in Europe.

In this regard, German Defense Minister Pistorius claimed that the deployment was necessary and that Europe faced an "increasingly serious capability gap" compared to Russia and the United States. German Chancellor Scholz also argued during the NATO summit that from the perspective of "deterrence" and "ensuring peace", this was "a necessary and important decision made at the right time."

But the Russian side obviously feels that this is pushing Russia and the West into a Cold War-style confrontation. According to RIA Novosti, Peskov responded on the 11th that all the characteristics of the Cold War period of confrontation and direct opposition are "flowing back" in the current relations between Russia and the West, and "we are steadily moving towards the Cold War." Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov said on the same day that the US and Germany's move is aimed at undermining Russia's security and is "one of the links in the escalation of the situation" and part of the intimidation of Russia. Russia will respond in a calm and professional manner according to the situation.

There are also many voices of opposition within Germany regarding the deployment of US missiles on its home soil. Sarah Wagenknecht, head of the alliance, told Der Spiegel that deploying more offensive missiles on German territory would not improve security, but would increase the risk of Germany becoming a war zone. Opposition even came from within the ruling coalition. "This will increase fear and leave room for false information and incitement." Green Party MP Sarah Nanni told Germany's Rheinische Post that Scholz provided little information about the exact threat posed by Russia.

Russian, U.S. defense ministers discuss reducing risks

According to the Intermediate-Range Missile Treaty signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1987, both sides no longer possess, produce or test land-based cruise missiles and ballistic missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers that are used as nuclear weapon delivery vehicles. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association of the United States, said that the ban on intermediate-range missiles is because the conventional warheads they carry can be converted into nuclear warheads, and the deployment of such weapons on the European continent means that potential targets have no time to react.

According to Deutsche Welle, the Tomahawk cruise missiles that the United States plans to deploy in Germany have a range of up to 2,500 kilometers. In comparison, the distance from Berlin to Moscow is about 1,600 kilometers. The hypersonic missiles that are also planned to be deployed but are still under development have a range of more than 2,750 kilometers. However, the U.S. War Zone website said that due to the difficult development stage, it is still unclear whether the U.S. Army's Dark Hawk missiles, which are included in the hypersonic missiles, can be deployed in Europe in 2026.

According to a report by Russian News Agency on the 12th, after the United States and Germany announced on the 10th that they would deploy a long-range attack system in Germany, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on the evening of the 12th that, at the initiative of the Russian side, Russian Defense Minister Belousov had a phone call with US Defense Secretary Austin on the same day to discuss issues such as preventing security threats and reducing the risk of possible escalation. The US Department of Defense announced on the same day that Austin emphasized the "importance of maintaining communication channels" during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The Russian "Imperial City" TV website analyzed that Belousov may use this call between the two defense ministers to warn the United States that the deployment of missiles in Germany may bring the risk of losing control of the situation.

The risk of the situation getting out of control also comes from other aspects. According to TASS, the director of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense's intelligence agency, Budanov, said in an interview with Ukrainian media that Kiev had tried to assassinate Putin, "but as you can see, these attempts ended in failure." On the 13th local time, Peskov responded that all threats from the Kiev regime were obvious, "so the safety of the head of state will be guaranteed accordingly."

According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said on the social platform that "without American money, there would be no malicious activities of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Intelligence Directorate, the Ukrainian National Security Service and the entire Kiev regime."