Putin threatens to build up forces in response to US anti-missile system in South Korea and Alaska as he slams ‘Russophobia’ in the West

Thursday, June 1, 2017
By Paul Martin

Vladimir Putin said parts of the anti-missile system were a challenge to Russia
He said Russia couldn’t stand idly by while others increased military capabilities
Putin also said he hoped ‘Russophobia’ in the West would ‘not last for too long’
Earlier Putin said that Russia does not engage in hacking ‘at the state level’
He said that some individual ‘patriotic’ hackers could mount some attacks
In January, US intelligence agencies reported that Putin oversaw a campaign of computer hacking, fake news and propaganda intended to swing the election

By KELLY MCLAUGHLIN
DailyMail.com
1 June 2017

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that elements of a US anti-missile system being built in Alaska and South Korea were a challenge to Russia which it was obliged to respond to by building up its own forces in the region.

Putin, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an economic forum in St Petersburg, said Russia could not stand idly by and watch while others increased their military capabilities along its borders in Europe and the Far East.

Earlier in the day, Putin said he hoped ‘Russophobia’ in the West would ‘not last for too long, not forever, if only because the understanding has to come that it is counterproductive and harms everyone’.

He insisted that measures against Moscow, including economic sanctions, had ended up having ‘zero effect’.

Putin also denied that the Kremlin has ever been involved in hacking, which comes after Russia was accused of meddling in both the 2016 US Presidential election and last month’s French Presidential election.

In response to the building up his military forces, the Russian President said Moscow was particularly alarmed by the deployment of the US THAAD anti-missile system to South Korea to counter a North Korean missile threat and to reported US plans to beef up Fort Greely in Alaska, a launch site for anti-ballistic missiles.

‘This destroys the strategic balance in the world,’ Putin told a meeting with international media, the start of which was broadcast on state TV.

‘What is happening is a very serious and alarming process,’ he said. ‘In Alaska, and now in South Korea, elements of the anti-missile defence system are emerging.

‘Should we just stand idly by and watch this? Of course not. We are thinking about how to respond to these challenges. This is a challenge for us.’

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