Why is Russia increasing its nuclear arsenal?
Russia will be adding more than 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles to its nuclear arsenal this year,聽President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.
Speaking at an arms fair west of Moscow, Putin described the new missiles as "able to overcome ," Reuters reported.
NATO quickly condemned the move, saying the Russian president's remarks amounted to "."
Putin's announcement comes of the heels of the US proposed increasing its military presence in NATO states in Eastern Europe and the Baltic nations.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have asked NATO to permanently deploy ground troops to their nations as a move against assertive Russia. Additionally, Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said on Sunday that he and US Defense Secretary Ash Carter confirmed reports that they have talked about the permanent stationing of US battle tanks and other heavy weaponry聽.
Secretary of the Air Force Deborah James expressed her concern over Ukraine on Monday adding that聽the US could be sending its most advanced warplanes to Europe over Russia 'threat',聽.
On June 8, President Obama described Putin as having a 鈥� to recreate the glories of the Soviet empire.鈥�
Putin, for his part, says he is the Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.聽Following the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in early 2014, pro-Russian separatist forces have seized a large part of Ukraine's east.
According to the BBC鈥檚 correspondent in Moscow,聽聽substantially under Vladimir Putin in an attempt to modernize its military program, including its nuclear arsenal.
Putin did not say which missiles were being added to Russia's arsenal. Last year, Russia that can travel up to聽5,000 miles and carry 100 times the explosive power of the blast that devastated Hiroshima in 1945.聽
that Russia has a military stockpile of about 4,500 nuclear weapons, 1,720 of which are currently strategically deployed. By comparison, the United States has about 4,700, some 1,900 of which are strategically deployed.
