Moscow May Deploy Nuclear Arms Anywhere in Russia, Including Crimea

Russia retains its right to deploy if necessary nuclear weapons anywhere on its territory, including on the Crimean Peninsula, Director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms control at the Russian Foreign Ministry Mikhail Ulyanov said Monday.

“Russia obviously retains the right if needed to deploy its nuclear weapons anywhere on its national territory, including on the Crimean Peninsula,” Ulyanov said in an interview with RIA Novosti in regard to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin’s statement during a NATO ministerial meeting in mid-May in Antalya, Turkey.

Earlier the Russian Defense Ministry announced plans that during snap combat readiness exercises it would redeploy 10 Tu-22M3 (Flanker) long-range aircraft capable of delivering nuclear weapons; however, there was no mention of arming them with nuclear warheads. The United States expressed its concern of the possible deployment of nuclear arms in Crimea.

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