NATO condemns 'threatening' Russia after weapons show

NATO said Friday that Russian threats to its members were "unacceptable and counterproductive", after President Vladimir Putin unveiled a new arsenal of hypersonic weapons billed as "invincible".

With ties between Russia and the West at post-Cold War lows over the Syria and Ukraine conflicts, Putin stoked fears of a new arms race with the announcement on Thursday of high-tech weaponry that can travel at many times the speed of sound.

Putin's presentation during a state of the nation speech featured video montages of missiles crossing mountains and oceans, heading over the Atlantic, though the Kremlin later insisted the maps used did not represent any actual countries.

"Russian statements threatening to target Allies are unacceptable and counterproductive," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said in a statement.

She said the alliance would press ahead with its twin-track approach with Russia -- dialogue paired with strong deterrence and defence.

Moscow has been angered by NATO's expansion into former Soviet satellite states in eastern Europe and Putin warned that Russia would respond to any attack on one of its allies, though he said it would only ever be defensive in nature.

Russia is also concerned by the US-led alliance's missile defence system in Europe, which it sees as a provocation, though NATO rejects the criticism.

"As we have repeatedly made clear, the alliance's missile defence is neither designed nor directed against Russia. Our system defends against ballistic missiles from outside the Euro-Atlantic area," Lungescu said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump shared concern in a phone conversation over Putin's claims, Berlin said Friday, and analysts have warned Putin was effectively challenging Washington to a new arms race.

"NATO is a defensive alliance, which stands ready to defend all members against any threat," Lungescu said.

"We do not want a new Cold War or a new arms race. All Allies support arms control agreements which build trust and confidence, for everyone's benefit."

Ukraine welcomes sale of US anti-tank missiles
Kiev (AFP) March 2, 2018 - Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko on Friday welcomed the sale of US Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, which he said would deter Russian aggression in the east of the country.

The sale of the missiles is likely to anger Russia, which this week unveiled a range of new generation weapons which President Vladimir Putin said would counter the threat from the US.

"This weapon in the hands of the Ukrainian military will become an additional deterrent argument against Russian aggression in Donbas," Poroshenko wrote on Facebook, referring to the eastern region where Kiev has fought a Russian-backed insurgency since 2014.

"I am thankful to President Donald J. Trump and the entire team that supports Ukraine for this important historic decision," he added.

According to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Ukraine asked the Trump administration for permission to buy 210 Javelin missiles and 37 launchers at a cost of around $47 million.

"The Javelin system will help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to meet its national defense requirements," the agency said in a statement on Thursday.

US government employees and contractors will help transport the weapons and train Ukraine's forces to use them.

The United States and its Western allies back Ukraine in its struggle to reunite its country after Russia annexed the Crimea region and pro-Russian rebels seized two eastern industrial regions.

But the US has been cautious in the past about escalating the conflict that has left over 10,000 dead by providing advanced "lethal" weaponry to Kiev, which may provoke a further degradation in tense ties with Moscow.

Putin's 'invincible' weapons: how worried should we be?
Moscow (AFP) March 2, 2018 - Russian President Vladimir Putin has boasted of a new arsenal of weapons that render Western missile defence systems obsolete, in a move that appears to signal the start of a fresh arms race with the US.

What exactly are the weapons?

In his state of the nation address on Thursday, the president played a series of videos and animations to demonstrate Russia's latest military equipment.

This included a cruise missile with nuclear propulsion that can travel an unlimited distance and move in an unpredictable pattern -- which Putin said is not owned by any other country and will be able to get around missile defence systems.

He also showed the "Sarmat" -- an intercontinental ballistic missile that will replace Russia's existing rockets and comes with technology to outsmart missile defence.

Among other projects, Russia has developed unmanned underwater devices that move much faster than torpedoes and can carry nuclear warheads, Putin said.

How worried should we be?

Putin used bellicose language as he unveiled the weapons, warning the world to "listen up now", but also insisted the weaponry would only be used in defence of Russia or its allies.

Analysts have pointed out some of the technology is not new, while others have suggested the Kremlin relied on video simulations to demonstrate some capabilities because the weapons are not fully developed.

"We already knew about the 'Sarmat' and we already knew about big complications with the rocket," independent Russian military analyst Alexander Golts told AFP.

"At the end of 2017 it wasn't the rocket itself that was tested, but a mock-up. I suspect we were shown an edited clip: first the mock-up takes off, then another rocket is flying," he said.

In an interview with the American news network NBC, Putin himself later admitted the weapons were in various stages of development, but some are battle ready.

Why is Putin doing this now?

With less than three weeks to go before a presidential election that he is widely expected to win, Putin was appealing to the Russian electorate as well as an international audience.

In the speech he repeatedly referred to the humiliation Russia suffered in the years after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and contrasted the situation then to the country's global standing now.

Putin enjoys sky-high approval ratings because many Russians see him as having restored national pride.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny said the president focused on the military in his speech because it is the only area "where he can lie with impunity".

If he had boasted of Russia's achievements in education or healthcare, voters would have been able to see the deception themselves, Navalny said in a YouTube video.

Is this the start of a new arms race?

Putin presented Russia's military efforts as a response to recent actions by the US, which last month unveiled plans to revamp its nuclear arsenal and develop new low-yield atomic weapons.

He told NBC an arms race effectively started again when Washington pulled out of the Soviet-era Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty under George W. Bush.

"In the US, after this speech, the entire political elite will vote for an increase in military spending," political analyst Alexei Makarkin told AFP, adding that Putin's address was a "challenge" to Washington.

Other analysts have said the move marks the start of an arms race, though a Kremlin spokesman denied the suggestion.

What will the impact be?

Putin's speech has further exacerbated tensions with the US, which have hit Cold War-era highs over conflict in Syria and Ukraine as well as accusations Moscow interfered in the US 2016 election.

Washington has accused Moscow of openly breaching Cold War-era treaties, a charge the Kremlin denies.

But while Putin's announcement might boost Russia's clout in the immediate future, military analyst Golts told AFP that getting involved in an arms race could backfire on Moscow.

"The USSR arms race ended badly, it ruined the Soviet economy. And Russia does not have the same resources as the Soviet Union. There is every reason to believe that for Russia it would also end badly."

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

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