Vladimir Putin’s speech has touched the aspect of strategic weapons and Russia’s readiness to use a new hypersonic missile if the US decides to deploy its own ones in Europe, The Washington Post reported.
The annual address of Vladimir Putin on Wednesday included the issue of Russian-American relationships and nuclear safety. The Russian leader threatened the US with an expanded array of strategic weapons, reminding a new hypersonic missile, and the early deployment of new nuclear submarines equipped with long-distance underwater nuclear drones.
Russia is playing muscles again, the same message Vladimir Putin sent last year when he warned the White House that Russia’s Armed Forces is ready to the defence any moment and to take reciprocal measure. On Wednesday, Mr Putin said the new weapons would target the US if it deployed missiles to Europe.
“Many in America’s ruling class are obsessed with exceptionalism,” he said. “But can they count? I expect they can. So let them count the range and speed of our weapons. This is all we ask.”
In the case of the US deploying missiles in Europe, Russia “will be forced, and I want to underline this, forced to take both reciprocal and assymetrical measures,” Putin emphasized.
Among other key points of his annual speech, Vladimir Putin said he rallied against the excesses of his own system. He would fight, he said, against the “arrogance” of his own bureaucrats. And he would continue to press against the out of town landfill sites that have been scourging many people’s lives.
Talking about the innovative warfare, Mr Putin announced a new hypersonic missile – the Zircon – which was able to travel 1,000 km at a speed of over 9 mach. The “Poseidon” underwater drone and “peresvet” laser system unveiled in 2018 would be deployed earlier than expected this year, he added.
