Moscow — President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia is militarily ready for a Cuban Missile-style crisis if the US is foolish enough to want one and that his country currently has the edge when it comes to a first nuclear strike. The Cuban Missile Crisis erupted in 1962 when Moscow responded to a US missile deployment in Turkey by sending ballistic missiles to Cuba, sparking a stand-off that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. More than five decades on, tensions are rising again over Russian fears that the US might deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe as a landmark Cold War-era arms control treaty unravels. Putin’s comments, made to Russian media late on Wednesday, follow his warning that Moscow will match any US move to deploy new missiles closer to Russia by stationing its own missiles closer to the US or by deploying faster missiles or both. Putin fleshed out his warning in detail for the first time, saying Russia could deploy hypersonic missiles on ...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.