Germany taking Russian military threat to target European capitals ‘seriously’

Germany said on Monday that it is taking Russian military threats to target European capitals seriously, following the US decision to deploy long-range missiles in Germany.

Referring to statements by Moscow last week that European countries would put themselves in danger if they accepted the deployment of long-range American missiles, German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said "such statements should always be taken seriously."

"I don't think they contain any news value, because it's already a reaction to the fact that the Russian government and the Russian military have targeted European capitals," he told a press briefing in Berlin.

Fischer said his country would "not be intimidated" by Russian threats.

"These actions are primarily aimed at harming the security of our country," Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov had said last week.

Describing the US actions as "one link in a chain of escalation," he said Russia will analyze the situation and respond in "a calm, professional manner." "Without nerves, without emotions, we will work out, first of all, a military response to this new threat."

The White House on July 10 said the US will begin "episodic deployments of the long-range fire capabilities of its Multi-Domain Task Force in Germany in 2026, as part of planning for enduring stationing of these capabilities in the future."