Russia’s state-run Rossiya 1 TV channel ran a segment on Sunday evening which appeared to be in direct reaction to the US recently announcing it plans to place long-range missiles in Germany. 

The segment included the Russian pundits ominously warning that Russian missiles can strike European capitals. “Almost all European capitals will be under threat if our missiles are stationed in Kaliningrad: Berlin, Warsaw, all the Baltic states, Paris, Bucharest, Prague, and of course, the American bases in Germany,” TV host and State Duma lawmaker Yevgeny Popov said. Watch the Russian-language segment below:

«Достаточно трех ракет, и эта цивилизация рухнет»: на «России 1» пригрозили ракетными ударами по европейским столицам

В эфире телеканала «Россия 1» прозвучали угрозы в адрес европейских столиц в случае размещения в Европе американского дальнобойных ракет.

Детали. Угрозы… pic.twitter.com/DDHz5TDDgC

— Новости «Агентства» (@agents_media) July 15, 2024

“Special attention to Britain, our traditional enemy…Britain is in the most vulnerable position — basically, three missiles are enough and this civilization will collapse,” Popov added.

At the same time, the show presented a map of Europe, showing potential target areas. UK and Europe-based news outlets picked up on the threat and featured commentary on the segment.

The US had announced last Wednesday in relation to the NATO summit in Washington that week: “The United States will begin episodic deployments of the long-range fires capabilities of its Multi-Domain Task Force in Germany in 2026, as part of planning for enduring stationing of these capabilities in the future.”

“When fully developed, these conventional long-range fires units will include SM-6, Tomahawk, and developmental hypersonic weapons, which have significantly longer range than current land-based fires in Europe,” the statement posted to the White House website added.

The major development had prompted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to respond: “Europe is a target for our missiles, our country is a target for U.S. missiles in Europe.” He explained further, “We have enough capacity to contain these missiles but the potential victims are the capitals of these countries.” 

“Europe is coming apart. Europe is not living its best moment. In a different configuration, a repeat of history is inevitable,” he said while looking back to the Cold War.

If Donald Trump takes the White House after November, it will be interesting to see whether he sticks by Washington’s proposed ultra-provocative missile expansion plans, or if he halts it while desiring to deescalate tensions over arms placement with an aim of of finding Ukraine peace.