In an apparent escalation of the Cold War-style threats, Russia has threatened to hit two proposed US bases in Europe with nuclear missiles if America went ahead with its plans for a missile defence shield.
A general in-charge of Russia's ballistic arsenal has said that the military could target the bases in Poland and the Czech Republic which will host the missile-interceptor shield if America insists on building them, The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday.
"I do not exclude the missile-defence shield sites in Poland and the Czech Republic being chosen as targets for some of our intercontinental ballistic missiles," General Nikolai Solovtsov was quoted as saying.
The United States insists that its new shield will carry only a few missiles, designed to intercept warheads fired from rogue states, such as Iran.
But dismissing that concept as a lie, Gen Solovtsov claimed that America was determined to surround Russia with its military might.
"If the Americans signed a treaty with us that they would only deploy 10 anti-missile rockets in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic, and will never put anything else there, then we could deal with this. However they won't sign, they just tell us verbally, 'We won't threaten you'," the General said.
He said that believing such verbal assurances in the past had seen Russia encircled by NATO.