Moscow warns US missile deployment in Norway could be targeted in armed conflict

Russian said on Monday that US missile systems deployed in Norway would be targeted in the event of an armed conflict because they can reach a significant part of European Russia, including Moscow. In a statement posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry website, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia's strategic deterrence forces are already taking the locations of the US systems and their command facilities into account in planning for the use of strike weapons. 'For those who made the decision in Washington and Oslo to deploy these systems in Norway, it should not come as a surprise that, as part of Russia's response measures, the locations where American systems and their control facilities are deployed become a subject of special attention from Russia's strategic deterrence forces,' she said. According to Zakharova, deploying the systems in Norway allows them to cover 'a considerable sector of the European part of Russian territory, including Moscow.' She said the systems are capable of using Tomahawk cruise missiles. The comments followed the deployment of a US Navy mobile containerized missile launcher to the city of Trondheim for the NATO Atlantic City 26 exercise, which was held from Aug. 26 to Sept. 4 with the participation of the US, Britain, and Norway. The US Navy has demonstrated the containerized launcher with both Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles, although US public materials do not specify which, if any, missiles accompanied the launcher during its deployment to Norway.