(Dan Tri) – Congressman Aleksey Zhuravlev proposed that Russia place nuclear weapons in countries near the US in response to Washington’s plan to transfer tactical weapons to Europe.
The Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was launched during an exercise of Russian nuclear forces (Photo: Reuters).
Last week, the Telegraph cited documents from the Pentagon that this newspaper collected saying that the US is planning to redeploy nuclear weapons in the UK after 15 years, to counter the threat that is said to be increasing.
In a post on Telegram on January 29, MP Aleksey Zhuravlev, first vice chairman of the Russian Parliamentary Defense Committee and leader of the Rodina party, said that Britain also has its own nuclear arsenal, while
`Therefore, additional deployment (of nuclear weapons to the UK) is unlikely to affect the political-military context,` Mr. Zhuravlev said.
However, this politician suggested that Moscow should consider deploying nuclear weapons closer to the US and sending them to `friendly countries like Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua`.
Mr. Zhuravlev admitted that weapon systems have made great leaps forward over the years, since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
He also pointed out that Russia has a strategic air force as well as a fleet of submarines stationed in locations across the world’s oceans.
`We have many ways to respond to any invasion by the US and NATO,` the Russian official declared.
According to the Telegraph, equipment procurement contracts for a new facility at Lakenheath Air Force Airport in Suffolk (UK) show that the US intends to place a nuclear warhead here with three times the power of a single bomb.
The US moved its nuclear missiles out of Britain in 2008 after saying the threat from Moscow had diminished.
The Russian Foreign Ministry warned that Moscow would be forced to issue `countermeasures` in case the US returned nuclear warheads to Britain.
Meanwhile, several Western officials – including Britain, Germany, Estonia and even the chairman of the NATO Military Committee – have raised concerns about an alleged Russian attack on Europe in
However, Russia has vehemently denied any plans to attack its European neighbors, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the claims a `hoax`.