Russia has warned that a US ballistic missile defense base in Poland could 'increase the risk of nuclear conflict'. That said, the missile base has now become a potential Russian attack target. That is, Russia can attack this base at any time if it deems necessary.
According to Indian news media NDTV, the new base, located in the Polish city of Ryzikowo near the Baltic Sea, was inaugurated last week. It is part of NATO's anti-Russian defense system. In this regard, Moscow has given this warning in a post shared by the verified X handle of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. Apart from this, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, also gave a similar statement.
Zakharova said, 'This move (opening of the new missile base) is part of a series of provocative and deeply destabilizing activities in the strategic sphere by the US and the NATO alliance. It undermines strategic stability, increases strategic risk and ultimately increases the risk of nuclear conflict.'
The US, on behalf of NATO, launched the missile base in Poland at a time when Russia has turned its back on the Ukraine war. NATO has taken control of the Agis Ashore Missile Defense System (AAMDS) at this new base in Poland. In this regard, Polish President Andrzej Duda said, 'I am happy to officially open this base. It, like the United States Army, will protect freedom and security in the world.'
Poland joined NATO in 1999. Sweden became the latest member of NATO this year. All three Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—are part of NATO and share land borders with Russia.
Meanwhile, the US has allowed Ukraine to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike deep into Russia. The White House had previously imposed this restriction. In addition, Ukraine used the UK-made Storm Shadow cruise missile against Russia for the first time. Ukraine attacked Russia using these missiles immediately after the US gave permission.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow has the right to strike military targets in countries where Ukraine is using weapons to attack Russian territory. This is seen as a veiled warning to London and Washington. But Russia did not stop only with threats. The country also launched an intercontinental ballistic missile attack on Ukraine for the first time in the history of world wars. Analysts say such missile strikes are a clear message to Kiev and the Western world that Russia can resort to any drastic measures if necessary.
Russia sees NATO's eastward expansion (closer to Russian borders) as a threat to its security. Moscow claims that after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the United States made a verbal commitment to the then Soviet Union not to expand NATO eastward.
This discussion took place between Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and then US Secretary of State James Baker when Germany was admitted to NATO in 1990. According to a report by the British think tank Chatham House, the United States later withdrew from that position.
A statement of the then German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher in 1990 was mentioned as its basis. He said, 'Whatever happens to the Warsaw Pact countries, NATO's territory will not expand eastward, that is, it will not approach the borders of the Soviet Union.' This was said before the fall of the Soviet Union.
Mikhail Gorbachev, however, has admitted to this verbal 'agreement' in some interviews, and in some cases has denied it. However, Russia has been using this issue as a tool to justify its position in the Ukraine war.
In 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron said at the St. Petersburg World Economic Forum, 'I think we have not fully kept the commitments we made to NATO in the last 20 years. This has raised some apprehensions, which are quite reasonable. We failed to give the confidence that Russia rightly expected.'
After the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, many analysts argued that NATO expansion was a factor in the conflict.
