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Putin says US missile test raises new threats to Russia

Sunday’s test came after the US and Russia withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the test of a new US missile banned under a now-defunct arms treaty has raised new threats and will warrant a response from Moscow.

The Pentagon said it tested a modified ground-launched version of a Navy Tomahawk cruise missile, which accurately struck its target more than 310 miles away.

Sunday’s test came after the US and Russia withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty that banned such weapons.

Speaking after talks Wednesday with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Mr Putin argued that the quick test indicated the US had begun work on the missile long before declaring its intention to withdraw from the pact.

He said that for Russia the test means “the emergence of new threats, to which we will react accordingly”.

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