President Vladimir Putin threatened to point Russia's nuclear weapons at Ukraine yesterday if Kiev agreed to host the controversial US missile defence shield.
Moscow would regrettably be forced to redirect its missiles at its post-Soviet neighbour, he said, if Ukraine went ahead with its plan to join Nato and allowed US infrastructure on its territory.
Speaking after talks in Moscow with Ukraine's president, Viktor Yushshenko, Putin said the real target of the Bush administration's shield in central Europe was Russia - not a rogue missile fired by Iran or North Korea.
The true purpose was "the neutralisation of our nuclear missile potential, which prompts Russia to take retaliatory action", Putin declared.
Asked what would happen if Ukraine joined Poland and the Czech Republic, which have already agreed to host elements of the Pentagon's system, Putin gave an emotional reply.
"It's horrible to say and even horrible to think that, in response to the deployment of such facilities in Ukrainian territory, which cannot theoretically be ruled out, Russia could target its missile systems at Ukraine. Imagine this for a second. That is what worries us," Putin said.
Russia has already said it would take "asymmetrical action" should the US deploy radar stations and missile interceptors in former eastern Europe. It has threatened to target both Poland and the Czech Republic with short-range missiles fired from the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.
The latest comments suggest Russia will target any former Warsaw pact country that agrees to the Bush administration's plan. The Kremlin has repeatedly complained of Nato's "encroachment" into its back yard.
The US has not yet asked Ukraine to play any role in its defence shield.
Both Yushchenko and Ukraine's new pro-western government, led by Yulia Tymoshenko, have described Nato membership as a strategic goal. But years of anti-Nato Soviet propaganda have left most Ukrainians sceptical and any attempt to join would be deeply unpopular.
Yesterday Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, also derided Washington's "excessive" missile defence plans and dismissed the threat from Iran as non-existent. It would need at least another 10 years to build a long-range missile, he said...
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