Russia officially warned Germanythat areas where new long-range strike systems will be deployed on German territory will be considered “legitimate military targets” for the Russian armed forces.
The warning came from the Russian embassy in Berlin against the background of a sharp expansion of German and pan-European long-range strike capabilities.
Russian diplomats said critics of Germany’s accelerated militarization are right to warn: positions where long-range missile systems will be deployed will inevitably end up in Russian target designation.
According to Moscow, such systems pose a direct threat to the security of Russia and the Union State of Russia and Belarus.
We’re not talking about just one rocket.
It is important to clarify: Germany does not yet have its own operational ground-based missile with a range of 2000 km.
But at the same time, several programs are being developed, which together radically change its military capabilities.
1. American Tomahawk and hypersonic systems
Back in 2024, Washington and Berlin agreed that the United States would begin sporadic deployment of long-range weapons of the American Multi-Domain Task Force in Germany starting in 2026.
The official joint statement explicitly listed:
- SM-6;
- Tomahawk;
- promising hypersonic systems.
These systems have a significantly greater range than existing NATO ground assets in Europe.
Joint statement by the US and Germany
2. ELSA – European deep impact system
In parallel, Germany participates in the program European Long-Range Strike Approach – ELSA.
Initially, the initiative united France, Germany, Italy and Poland, then Great Britain and Sweden joined it.
Official ELSA documents now explicitly provide for the development of several classes of impact systems:
- ground-based systems with a range of 300–500 km;
- ground-based complexes 500–2000 km;
- range systems 2000 km or more;
- cheap long-range disposable strike drones.
That is, the figure “2000 km” is actually present in the official architecture of the program, and is not a journalistic exaggeration.
3. Taurus Neo and German deep strokes
Germany is simultaneously modernizing its existing Taurus cruise missiles and developing their next generation – Taurus Neo.
The federal government confirmed back in the spring that the program to bring the Taurus Neo to serial readiness had received budget approval.
Berlin is clear that it wants to create its own opportunities deep precision strike — high-precision destruction of targets far behind the front line.
In addition, Germany has already tested the Israeli LORA ballistic missile with a range of up to 500 km, which in itself is a new stage for the Bundeswehr.
“Legitimate military objectives”
It is against this background that the Russian embassy formulated a warning that is much harsher than usual diplomatic protests.
Moscow is actually saying: if long-range systems are deployed on German territory as part of the military infrastructure, their positions will be considered legitimate goals in the event of a military conflict.
This does not yet mean a threat of an immediate Russian strike on Germany.
But the wording shows that Moscow is already including future German missile infrastructure in its potential list of targets in advance.
Why is this especially important now?
The statement came against the backdrop of a sharp deterioration in German-Russian relations.
After the drone incident at Leipzig/Halle airport, Berlin officially blamed Russia and closed the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin.
Moscow called these decisions an unprecedented escalation.
At the same time, Germany is sharply increasing its military support for Ukraine.
Athens News has already written about launch of production of 5,000 long-range attack drones for Ukraine.
Now this line is being complemented by the creation of a European missile potential with a range of up to 2000 km and beyond.
Moscow and Berlin call the same thing differently
For Germany, this entire program is called containment.
Berlin explains it by the need to compensate for Russia’s advantage in Iskander, Kalibr missiles and other deep-impact systems.
For Moscow, the same infrastructure already looks like preparation for the possibility of striking directly on Russian territory.
That is why each side considers its own strengthening to be defensive, and the actions of the other as offensive escalation.
Direct collision threshold gets lower
A long-range missile on German territory in itself does not mean war.
But it creates a potential target that didn’t exist before.
And together with the American Tomahawk, ELSA, Taurus Neo and the new massive attack drone program, Germany is gradually turning from a logistics supplier to Ukraine into one of the central hubs of European long-range strike.
Editorial comment
Just a few days ago, the question was: why is Germany so sharply increasing the level of confrontation with Russia?
Now Moscow’s response is beginning to emerge.
Berlin produces thousands of long-range drones for Ukraine, is involved in the creation of European 2000+ km missiles, is modernizing the Taurus and is preparing to accept American long-range systems.
Moscow’s response is no longer limited to the phrase “unfriendly actions.” She directly tells Germany: such positions will become military targets.
That is why the current situation is much more dangerous than an ordinary diplomatic conflict.
If Germany assumes that increasing the range of weapons strengthens deterrence against Russia, then Russia assumes the opposite: the more long-range systems appear in Germany, the more objects on German territory become part of potential military planning.
In essence, the parties begin to prepare in advance for a scenario that both officially call undesirable.
It is especially noteworthy that until quite recently, Germany tried for decades not to play an independent role in the missile confrontation in Europe. Today it is becoming one of the main participants in ELSA and one of the key centers of the new European military industry.
Against this background, yesterday’s words of SVR head Sergei Naryshkin about the risk of a large-scale war in Eurasia are beginning to sound more than just political rhetoric.
Berlin is creating long-range weapons, Moscow is determining their positions as targets in advance. This is precisely the logic of mutual deterrence that should prevent war—but, if wrong, can make it much more likely.
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