Russian President Vladimir Putin recently attended the annual Navy Day parade in St. Petersburg on July 28th, 2024. During his address to sailors, he took aim at the West for maintaining a Cold War mentality. He specifically criticized plans by the United States and Germany to deploy long-range precision missile systems in Europe.
According to a joint US-German press release issued on July 10th, the US will begin episodic deployments of long-range fires capabilities of its Multi-Domain Task Force in Germany in 2026. President Putin called this announcement “noteworthy,” as such a deployment would put vital Russian state and military facilities, administrative and industrial centers, as well as defense infrastructure at risk from these missiles. He highlighted the fact that flight time for such missiles to reach targets on Russian soil is approximately ten minutes, and that they could potentially be equipped with nuclear warheads.
The situation has been likened by Putin to events during the Cold War related to the deployment of American medium-range missiles in Europe. He noted that while Russia left the Cold War behind long ago, the US did not reciprocate. The president warned that if the US goes ahead with its missile deployment plan, Russia will respond accordingly.
If the US implements such plans, we will consider ourselves free from the previously adopted moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range strike weapons, and will take steps to boost the capabilities of the coastal troops of our Navy,” he stated. He also mentioned that development of several such missile systems is in its final stages.
We will take mirror measures to deploy [these systems], taking into account the actions of the US and its satellites in Europe and other regions of the world,” Putin vowed. His speech followed a greeting to sailors and ship crews assembled for the annual Navy Day parade, which is the Russian Navy’s primary celebration. He praised the Navy as “a reliable guardian of our naval borders” and a source of pride and glory for Russia.
Putin further emphasized that Russia’s naval power has been achieved through the hard work and talent of its seamen. He pledged to continue supporting and strengthening the Navy’s capabilities, focusing on training and increasing marine personnel, equipping naval vessels with hypersonic missiles, boosting coastal infrastructure, and enhancing intelligence and air defense.