Russia could respond to the deployment of US nuclear bombs in Germany by erecting an impregnable chain of missile defense installations, nuclear-tipped Iskander missiles and cruise missiles, a prominent Russian military analyst warned on Wednesday. "All we can do now is to install nuclear warheads on our Iskander ballistic missiles and extended-range X-555 cruise missiles on our Tu-22M3 strategic bombers," the Academy of Geopolitical Studies director Konstantin Sivkov told RIA Novosti news agency. The reaction comes after German television station ZDF on Tuesday cited a Pentagon budget document saying that the US Air Force would deploy modernized B61 nuclear bombs to Germany's Buchel air force base this fall — replacing the 20 weapons already at the site. The German Defense Ministry refused any comment, while a Pentagon representative told Sputnik that the United States did not see the planned deployment as a violation of existing agreements. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the US move as a potential "violation of the strategic balance in Europe," that would demand a Russian response. "This could alter the balance of power in Europe," Peskov told reporters at a news press conference on Wednesday. "And without a doubt it would demand that Russia take necessary countermeasures to restore the strategic balance and parity." The US nuclear weapons in question are the newest upgrade to the B61 air-dropped nuclear bomb, known as the B61-12. They are already deployed to bases in several NATO countries, such as Germany and Turkey. The B61 is a variable yield nuclear device, blurring the lines between so-called tactical and strategic nuclear weapons. In other words, the power of the weapon can be adjusted for use as a small-scale battlefield nuke, or set to detonate at over 300 megatons.
