The Avangard hypersonic boost-glide weapon is shown during testing in July 2018 and now deployed operationally.
Jon Jackson – NEWSWEEK Jan 30, 2025
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.
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 an 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.
Russia has set up all gov. institutions in the East and the N.American continent is strategically reshaped with increased influence in the Arctic. Both clean out their regions of influence from the satanists who used to come out on top in previous aftertimes. This time Russia or America comes out on top. And that’s decided when the three days of darkness arrive in the northern hemisphere before old Nib’s passage.
Only problem is, its all bunk–just like the bogus ‘Cold War’ between the US-USSR.
Check out what Grigory Mashkov looks like– the ‘Russian’ Foreign Ministry special ambassador.
Notice the nose & giant ears on this rat faced Yid pretending to be a ‘Russian’. Like Nico X has stated before, all the government officials of Russia are Jews, masquerading as ‘Russians’. The Putintards & Russophiles still can’t figure this out though.
In the US we have the NFL — a sports league with mostly negro players. The few whites they allow are all roman catholics. Same thing for the white coaches–all catholics. These catholics furtively inserted the phrase ‘Hail Mary’ into every game–this term refers to a last second desperation throw into the endzone hoping some nigger will catch the ball to tie or win the game..So if you’re dumb enough to watch any game you will hear sometime during the broadcast the jew or catholic announcers say the phrase ‘hail mary’–its all jew-catholic propaganda. And then they get the viewer or fan to say it too..so you’re basically hailing some Jewess. A little joke they play on the idiots. But now you know.