Russia To Get More Missiles, NATO Urges Increase In Spending

[Purveyor]

A statement issued by the head of Russia's military on Friday said that despite the country's economic woes due to European and US sanctions as well as a sharp drop in oil prices, the armed forces were to take delivery of 50 additional ballistic missiles by the end of this year.

"Support for our strategic nuclear forces to ensure their high military capability combined with...growth of the military potential of the general forces will assure that (the United States and NATO) do not gain military superiority over our country,"General Valery Gerasimov's statement said.

The new missiles are just part of a plan to modernize Russia's armed forces by 2020. President Vladimir Putin has pledged that Russian defense spending will remain stable despite a growing economic crisis that has forced budget cuts at other government ministries.

Gerasimov said Russia had no choice but to modernize its military due to threats from beyond its borders.

"Western countries are actively using new forms of aggression, combining military as well as non-military means. Political, economic and information methods are also being used," Russia's Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

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http://www.dw.de/russia-to-get-more-missiles-nato-urges-increase-in-spending/a-18226993

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Great. A new (did it ever stop?) arms race over a squabble between Russia and Ukraine.