Putin to develop horror weapons
Russia is developing hypersonic nuclear missiles that can’t be stopped, Vladimir Putin said yesterday.
The warning came as he said he would remove Russia from the IntermediateRange Nuclear Forces treaty – a day after US president Donald Trump did the same.
The deal was struck by the US leader Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union premier Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987.
But it collapsed in October when Trump suggested Russia was violating the agreement by developing missiles that broke the rules, a claim which was denied.
On Friday, Trump’s secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, confirmed the US was suspending the treaty.
He said in a tweet: “Russia remains in material breach and is f ielding i l legal missiles. Time has run out.
“Tomorrow, the United States will suspend its INF obligations and notify all parties of US intent to withdraw in six months.”
Putin yesterday declared Russia would develop new medium range weapons because the US was already developing its own.
He added: “Our American partners have announced they are suspending their participation in the deal, and we are also suspending our participation.
“We will wait until our partners have matured enough to conduct an equal, meaningful dialogue with us on this important topic.”
A hypersonic missi le travels at f ive times the speed of sound, making missile defences pointless.