Russia plans to place its nuclear weapons in “friendly countries” near the USA in response to Washington’s alleged plans to move its own tactical weapons to Europe, suggested legislator Aleksey Zhuravlev.
+ The Czech Republic intends to acquire 24 5th generation F-35 Lightning II fighters
His comments came after The Telegraph reported on Saturday that the USA is looking to deploy its nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom for the first time in 15 years, in order to counter a supposed growing threat from Russia.
In a Telegram post, Zhuravlev, who is the first deputy chairman of the Russian parliamentary defense committee and leader of the Rodina (Homeland) party, highlighted that the United Kingdom has its own nuclear weapons and that the USA has already deployed part of its atomic arsenal in several European countries close to Russia.
However, the politician suggested that Moscow should consider deploying its own nuclear weapons closer to the USA and sending them to “friendly countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.”
Zhuravlev admitted, however, that weapons systems have made a significant leap in the years since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. “Russian hypersonic missiles launched from our territory would reach the USA faster than subsonic ones launched from the American mainland,” wrote the parliamentarian.
He also highlighted that Russia has strategic aviation, as well as a vast arsenal of submarines stationed at unknown locations around the world’s oceans.
The Russian Foreign Ministry had already warned that Moscow would be forced to enact “compensatory countermeasures” in the event of American nuclear warheads returning to the United Kingdom. Russia has also repeatedly accused the West of fueling tensions in Europe and cited NATO’s ongoing eastward expansion as one of the deep-rooted causes of the conflict in Ukraine.
(With information from rt)
Photo: Russian Defense Ministry
