Moscow, Dec 17 The West is pushing Russia towards its red line, leaving Moscow no choice but to respond, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an expanded meeting of the collegium of the Russian Defence Ministry.
Western countries are using a false Russian threat to scare their populations while pushing Moscow to its red line and forcing a response, said Putin on Monday, adding that the West wages hybrid wars and pursue a policy of containment concerning states they oppose, including Russia.
He said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is ramping up military spending, deploying strike groups near Russia's borders, and increasing the number of US troops in Europe, with the total now exceeding 100,000, Xinhua news agency reported.
He said the bloc is also strengthening its presence in the Asia-Pacific region while forming US-led military alliances that weaken the region's long-standing security architecture.
"US efforts aimed at creating and preparing high-precision ground-based weapons with a range of up to 5,500 km for deployment in forward zones are concerning," Putin said, warning that if the US moves forward with the deployment of such missiles, Russia will lift its own unilateral restrictions previously imposed within the framework of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
At the same time, he noted that the Russian army and navy are being modernised, and 95 per cent of the country's strategic nuclear forces are now equipped with modern weapons.
Putin said the mass production of the country's new Oreshnik intermediate-range missile systems will begin in the near future.
He added that Russia's strategic nuclear forces are crucial in maintaining sovereignty and territorial integrity, adding that it is also "important to keep non-strategic nuclear forces in constant combat readiness and continue ... conducting exercises to practice their use".
He warned that if the US proceeds with the deployment of such missiles, Russia would respond by lifting all voluntary restrictions it has imposed on its own missile deployments.
The Russian president further emphasised that the country's nuclear arsenal is intended solely for deterrence, underscoring its strategic value in maintaining balance.
Putin also highlighted the continued progress of Russian forces in Ukraine, claiming that 189 settlements had been brought under Russian control this year.
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