Russia may expand and upgrade its nuclear arsenal if the United States continues to push ahead with the development of a missile defense system, a top Russian diplomat said in an interview published on Thursday.
Grigory Mashkov, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s special ambassador, made the comments to the Russian journal International Affairs, according to Reuters.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry and the U.S. Department of Defense via email on Thursday for comment.
Why It Matters
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, tensions have been high between Russia and Kyiv’s Western allies, which includes the United States.
Putin and various Russian officials have frequently raised the specter of nuclear escalation. The Russian leader also suspended his country’s participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction agreement two years ago, which was the last remaining treaty between Moscow and Washington that limited nuclear arsenals.
A Russian RS-24 Yars nuclear missile complex arrives during rehearsals for a military parade in Moscow’s Red Square on May 5, 2024.
A Russian RS-24 Yars nuclear missile complex arrives during rehearsals for a military parade in Moscow’s Red Square on May 5, 2024.
Photo by Contributor/Getty Images
What To Know
In an executive order this week, President Donald Trump directed the military to start “construction of the great Iron Dome missile defense shield, which will be made all in the USA.” The Iron Dome is an Israeli air defense system that intercepts incoming rockets and shells, and the U.S. supported its development.
According to a English translation by the Russian state news agency Tass of Mashkov’s International Affairs interview, the ambassador said that the U.S. further developing a global missile defense system “puts an end to the prospects of strategic offensive arms reduction and preservation of strategic stability on the previous terms.”
“In the emerging realities, it is no longer possible to talk about strategic stability in its classical bilateral context, or else we may plunge into another illusion,” Mashkov said, per Tass.
He added, “It is not ruled out that in the current conditions of confrontation with the West, with its policy of inflicting strategic damage on Russia, we may face the need for moving away from restrictions on nuclear and missile arsenals in favor of their quantitative and qualitative increase.”
He continued by saying Russia would examine its “commitments in the area of strengthening transparency and confidence-building measures, and suspend discussions on nuclear risks and threats, which are becoming empty talk in the context of growing efforts by the West to undermine strategic and non-strategic nuclear deterrent forces.”
Mashkov also said that arms control and disarmament in Russia should be more aligned with “U.S. global dominance ambitions.”
“It is difficult to judge whether our policy of cooperation with the Americans only in areas which they are interested in is reasonable, if at all,” he said.
What People Are Saying
President Trump, during an appearance in Florida on Monday, said the future American Iron Dome “will be made right here in the USA.”
Russian Ambassador-at-Large Grigory Mashkov said to Intentional Affairs, according to Tass: “A missile arms race is already in full swing. So is the large-scale modernization of nuclear arsenals and WMD [weapons of mass destruction] delivery vehicles.”
What Happens Next
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Monday that the plan to develop the American Iron Dome “is happening quickly.”
It is not currently clear what Russia’s plans are regarding its nuclear arsenal.