Germany pledges to expand commitment to Ukraine, agrees to host U.S. cruise missiles
By richardbrown // 2024-07-15
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Germany, already the second-largest military donor to war-torn Ukraine after the United States, has pledged to expand its commitments to Kyiv during the recent summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Washington, D.C., including allowing the U.S. to host Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles for "security" purposes. This comes after the U.S. announced its intention to deploy missiles to Germany in a move that would have been prohibited by the now-defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty which then-President Ronald Reagan signed with General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev of the former Soviet Union. The treaty banned land-based missile systems with ranges between 310 and 3,400 miles. Former President Donald Trump withdrew from the treaty in 2019, claiming Russian non-compliance with its contents. The current proposal would see American Tomahawk missiles – and potentially other long-range weapons systems – deployed in Germany beginning sometime in 2026. Tomahawk missiles, launched from ships or submarines, have a range exceeding 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles), although exact figures are classified. It should be noted that the Tomahawk missiles are capable of being fitted with nuclear warheads. In addition to Tomahawks, the White House announced that it will also deploy other "conventional long-range" missiles to Germany on an "episodic" basis, including SM-6 anti-air missiles and experimental hypersonic weapons. All of these would significantly increase the ranges of current land-based missile systems in Europe. This deployment of missiles to Germany comes shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Russia's intention to develop weapons previously banned under the INF treaty. Russia has previously accused the U.S. of violating the INF Treaty when it deployed Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System units to Poland and Romania, which are capable of firing Tomahawk missiles.

NATO to expand support for Ukraine, increase presence in Germany

At the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., outgoing Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg outlined plans for expanding the military alliance's support for Ukraine and increasing its presence in Germany. Among the latest developments is the announcement that NATO would create a separate headquarters in Germany. In a front-page report by the conservative daily newspaper Die Welt, it was pointed out that this dedicated headquarters – potentially in Wiesbaden, in the central German state of Hesse – would be used to coordinate future assistance to Ukraine. The NATO headquarters will be located within the massive Lucius D. Clay Kaserne, a U.S. Army installation in the city occupied by the U.S. Armed Forces since the very end of World War II. NATO claims this new headquarters would help the military alliance provide Ukraine with robust support to deter and defend against so-called Russian aggression. Preparations for the headquarters are set to commence soon. Wiesbaden is already home to U.S. military units supporting Ukraine against Russia's special military operation. At the summit, the U.S. Department of Defense announced plans to expand its presence in the city to around 700 troops, and the German military – the Bundeswehr – has committed approximately 40 soldiers and a general to serve as deputy commander of the NATO deployment in the city. (Related: Germany could soon roll out MANDATORY military recruitment screenings of 18-year-olds to boost troop numbers.) The NATO initiative is seen as a precautionary step in anticipation of potential shifts in U.S. leadership, particularly the return of former President Donald Trump in January 2025. NATO is concerned about the impact such a scenario could have on support for Ukraine and related coordination efforts. Watch this short clip of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz calling America's plan to deploy cruise missiles to Germany "a very good decision." This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

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