Vladimir Putin has threatened to target the U.S. if the Trump administration deploys intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe, Reuters reports. The two countries this month tore up a Cold War agreement that banned ground-launched cruise missiles with a range between 500 kilometers and 5,000 kilometers since 1987. But, in his annual address to the Russian parliament Wednesday, Putin warned that he’d respond to any deployment of nukes in Europe by targeting the U.S. and the countries where the missiles are stationed. However, he added that Russia didn’t want a confrontation and wouldn’t take the first step to deploy missiles after the end of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. “It’s their right to think how they want. But can they count? I’m sure they can. Let them count the speed and the range of the weapons systems we are developing,” Putin said. “Russia will be forced to create and deploy types of weapons which can be used not only in respect of those territories from which the direct threat to us originates, but also in respect of those territories where the centers of decision-making are located.”
