Russia Vows 'Military' Response as US Hypersonic Weapons Head to Europe

A top Russian official has vowed a "military response" after the U.S. announced that it will be deploying developmental hypersonic weapons in Europe.

Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister in charge of ties with the U.S., non-proliferation and arms control, issued the warning on the sidelines of the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in St. Petersburg, state-run news agency Tass reported on Thursday.

"We will develop a military response to the new threat calmly, with a cool head," the Russian diplomat said.

He was speaking after the U.S. and Germany said at a summit of the NATO military alliance in Washington that the U.S. will, in 2026, deploy longer-range missiles in Germany.

Ties between Washington and Moscow have become increasingly strained over Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian officials and guests on Russian state TV have routinely called for strikes on U.S. soil over aid and weapons provided by the Biden administration to Kyiv.

The United States will begin "episodic deployments of the long-range fires capabilities of its Multi-Domain Task Force in Germany in 2026, as part of planning for enduring stationing of these capabilities in the future," the joint statement from the United States and Germany said.

"When fully developed, these conventional long-range fires units will include SM-6, Tomahawk, and developmental hypersonic weapons, which have significantly longer range than current land-based fires in Europe.

The U.S. and Germany said exercising these "advanced capabilities" will "demonstrate the United States' commitment to NATO and its contributions to European integrated deterrence."

Ryabkov said he believes the move is "just a link in the chain of escalation."

It is "an intimidation tactic, which is pretty much the bedrock of the policy that NATO and the U.S. pursue towards Russia these days. We will work out a reaction in a calm and professional manner," the deputy foreign minister said.

Newsweek has contacted the Pentagon for comment by email.

Thursday marks the final day of the NATO summit in Washington. NATO released a communique on Wednesday stating that the 32-member military alliance will continue to support Ukraine "on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership."

NATO will "be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met."

"It's not a question of if, but when," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a press briefing.

Sir Christopher Harper, a nonresident senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, said in analysis for the Atlantic Council think tank that the word "irreversible" regarding Ukraine's path to NATO membership is "powerful and important."

"One should not underestimate how tricky it will have been to achieve consensus on this," said Harper. "The implication is that this path cannot be reversed during any negotiations that might occur with Russia.

Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via worldnews@newsweek.com.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.