Putin threatens Cold War-era missile crisis as Russia seize Ukrainian cities
Date
7/29/2024 5:43:02 AM
(MENAFN) Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stern warning to the United States on Sunday, threatening to deploy medium-range nuclear missiles if the U.S. proceeds with plans to station long-range missiles in Germany or elsewhere in Europe. Speaking at a ceremony marking Russian Navy Day in St. Petersburg, Putin cautioned that such a move by Washington could ignite a missile crisis reminiscent of the Cold War. He stated that the U.S. deployment would reduce the flight time of missiles to Russian targets to approximately ten minutes, potentially leading to their arming with nuclear warheads. In response, Russia would abandon its unilateral moratorium on medium- and short-range missiles and enhance the capabilities of its coastal naval forces. Putin also criticized recent U.S. missile system deployments in Denmark and the Philippines, drawing parallels to NATO's deployment of Pershing II missiles in Western Europe in 1979. He reaffirmed Russia's commitment to resuming the production of intermediate- and short-range nuclear-capable missiles as part of its strategic response.
On the battlefield in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported significant gains, announcing control over the towns of Progress and Yevgenivka in the eastern Donetsk region, which has been the site of intense fighting. The ministry claimed that Russian forces had liberated these towns during active operations and had inflicted heavy losses on Ukrainian troops. Over the past 24 hours, the ministry reported the death of approximately 1,930 Ukrainian soldiers in various engagements. Additionally, Russian forces in the Kharkiv region successfully repelled two counterattacks, resulting in the Ukrainian Armed Forces suffering losses of 205 soldiers, while Western Forces repelled another Ukrainian counterattack, leading to 540 additional Ukrainian casualties.
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