Russia’s state-run Rossiya 1 TV channel ran a segment threatening to strike European capitals during its primetime broadcast on Sunday evening.
“Almost all European capitals will be under threat if our missiles are stationed in Kaliningrad: Berlin, Warsaw, all the Baltic states, Paris, Bucharest, Prague, and of course, the American bases in Germany,” TV host and State Duma lawmaker Yevgeny Popov said during the broadcast highlighted by the independent investigative news outlet Agentstvo.
The channel also displayed a map highlighting potential targets in Europe following the White House’s announcement during a NATO summit that it would periodically station long-range weapons in Germany from 2026 as a deterrent.
“Special attention to Britain, our traditional enemy…Britain is in the most vulnerable position — basically, three missiles are enough and this civilization will collapse,” Popov said.
The statement echoes the Kremlin’s warning on Saturday that the deployment of American missiles in Germany could make European capitals targets for Russian missiles.
"Europe is a target for our missiles, our country is a target for U.S. missiles in Europe,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "We have enough capacity to contain these missiles but the potential victims are the capitals of these countries."
Peskov also hinted that a confrontation of this kind could undermine Europe as a whole — in the same way that the Cold War ended in the Soviet Union's collapse.
"Europe is coming apart. Europe is not living its best moment. In a different configuration, a repeat of history is inevitable," he said.
Responding to the Kremlin's warning that the U.S. missile deployment could put European capitals at risk, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said the United States and NATO "do not seek a military conflict with Russia... but any military action directed against a NATO Ally would trigger an overwhelming response."
The German army does not have long-range missiles that launch from the ground, only cruise missiles that can be fired by aircraft.
Following the end of the Cold War, the United States significantly reduced the numbers of missiles stationed in Europe as the threat from Moscow receded.
Now NATO countries — spearheaded by the U.S. — have been bolstering their defenses in Europe following the start of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine in 2022.
AFP contributed reporting.
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