Putin: We are ready for a crisis like the Cuban Missile Crisis if the US so desires.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is militarily prepared for a crisis like the Cuban Missile Crisis if the US is foolish enough to want one; according to Putin, Russia could send hypersonic missiles on ships and submarines that could approach US territorial waters if Washington decides to send intermediate-range nuclear weapons to Europe, some of which could reach Moscow in 10 to 12 minutes.
Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is militarily prepared for a crisis like the Cuban Missile Crisis if the United States is foolish enough to want one, and that his country currently has the advantage when it comes to a first nuclear strike.
The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in 1962 when Moscow reacted to the installation of US missiles in Turkey by sending ballistic missiles to Cuba, provoking a stalemate that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
More than five decades later, tensions are rising again due to fears that the US will position intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe now that a Cold War arms control treaty may be nearing its end.
Putin's comments, made to Russian media on Wednesday night, follow his warning that Moscow will respond to any US action to install new missiles closer to Russia by positioning its own missiles closer to the US, deploying faster missiles, or both.
Putin detailed his warning for the first time, saying that Russia could send hypersonic missiles on ships and submarines that could approach US territorial waters if Washington decides to send intermediate-range nuclear weapons to Europe.
"(We are talking about) naval launch vehicles: submarines or surface ships. And we can place them, given the speed and range (of our missiles)... in neutral waters. Moreover, they are not stationary, they move and they (the Americans) will have to find them," Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript.
"You do the math. Mach nine (the speed of the missiles) and more than a thousand kilometers (of range)," he added.
The U.S. State Department downplayed Putin's earlier warning, calling it propaganda and saying it was designed to divert attention from what Washington alleges are Russian violations of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
The pact, which prohibits both sides from deploying short- and intermediate-range ground-based missiles in Europe, is faltering, raising the prospect of a new arms race between Washington and Moscow.
Putin said he does not want an arms race with the US, but that he will have no choice but to act if Washington installs new missiles in Europe, some of which he claimed are capable of reaching Moscow in 10 to 12 minutes.