Russian Nuclear Weapons Threat By Vladimir Putin May Have Pentagon Deploying U.S. Cruise Missiles To Europe

The threat of new Russian nuclear weapons being developed under Vladimir Putin’s government has the Pentagon considering deploying U.S. cruise missiles to Europe to act as a deterrent, according to senior U.S. officials.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, the Russian nuclear navy is currently being modernized at a rapid pace, and it’s believed a suspected Russian submarine may have been lurking in the English Channel. Ron Paul believes that a “reckless” Congress has essentially declared war on Vladimir Putin and Russia based upon the recently passed U.S. House Resolution 758, and government-funded Russian media is warning that giving lethal aid to Ukraine could lead to World War 3 if the U.S. Senate passes similar legislation and President Obama acts on it.

Earlier this year, it was claimed it was possible that Russia’s nuclear weapons may have been deployed near Ukraine. In response, Kiev said that Ukraine’s nuclear weapons programs may be restarted. The U.S. State Department also released a report that the number of Russian nuclear weapons outnumbered the United States for the first time in years, even though both countries had previously agreed to non-proliferation agreements. Yesterday, a new plan by Russia’s military was revealed, and it claimed when Vladimir Putin might fire Russian nuclear weapons, although it did rule out a pre-preemptive strike.

Now a new Russian cruise missile is claimed to have violated the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, which says that either country cannot possess, produce or test-fly a ground-launched cruise missile with a range of 300 to 3,400 miles. In response, Brian P. McKeon, deputy Undersecretary of Defense for policy, said U.S. cruise missiles could be deployed in Europe if Russia fails to return to compliance to the INF.

“We don’t have ground-launched cruise missiles in Europe now, obviously, because they’re prohibited by the treaty,” McKeon said according to the Washington Free Beacon. “But that would obviously be one option to explore.”

Russia has not acknowledged the allegations that the new Russian nuclear weapons violate the INF treaty. Rose Gottemoeller, Undersecretary of State for arms control and international security, told a House panel that the U.S. military is considering multiple other options besides deploying U.S. nuclear weapons into Europe.

“Therefore, we are reviewing a series of diplomatic, economic and military measures to protect the interests of the United States and our allies and encourage Russia to uphold its nuclear arms control commitments,” Gottemoeller said, according to the Associated Press. “Second, we are actively reviewing potential economic measures in response to Russia’s violation. And third, the United States is assessing options in the military sphere to ensure that Russia would not gain a significant military advantage from its violation of the INF Treaty.”

McKeon also said the threat posed by Russia’s nuclear weapons could caused the United States to create “active defenses to counter intermediate-range, ground-launched cruise missiles, counterforce capabilities to prevent intermediate-range, ground-launched cruise missile attacks, and countervailing strike capabilities to beef up U.S. or allied forces.”