BERLIN, July 12. /TASS/. The announcement by the United States that it intends to deploy missiles in Germany shows it is upping the ante in its conflict with Russia, military expert, Austrian Armed Forces officer Markus Reisner said.

"NATO is trying to create a counterbalance [to Russia] by seeking to deploy various weapons systems in Europe. This is a further escalation," he told Berliner Zeitung. The expert believes that the timing of this announcement is strategic. By doing so, Washington wants to tip things in its favor in the information space, which is increasingly dominated by Russia amid the ongoing Ukrainian conflict.

The newspaper notes that the range of American cruise missiles is up to 2,500 kilometers. The last time the United States deployed such weapons in Germany was in the 1990s.

On July 10, the US and Germany issued a joint statement saying that Washington would begin deploying new weapons in Germany starting in 2026. These arms will have a longer range than anything else currently deployed in Europe. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that such plans by Washington increase the likelihood of a missile arms race and could lead to uncontrolled escalation.