RUSSIA has declared there are now no limits on its deployment of nuclear missiles in a chilling warning to the West.

Throwing off its gloves and restraints, Moscow vowed to match US and Nato moves with force, reigniting fears of a Cold War-style arms race.

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused America and its allies of creating a “direct threat to the security of our country” by preparing to deploy intermediate-range weapons in Europe.

Saying Moscow now has a free hand to respond, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “Russia no longer considers itself to be constrained by anything.

“Therefore Russia believes it has the right to take respective steps if necessary.”

The trigger, according to Russia, is the planned US deployment of Typhoon and Dark Eagle missiles in Germany starting next year.

The Kremlin said the move shattered what remained of strategic stability, accusing Donald Trump’s USA of risking “a dangerous escalation of tensions between nuclear powers.”

It was the clearest warning yet that Vladimir Putin is prepared to redraw the red lines of nuclear deterrence — and challenge the West head-on.

Putin’s game-changer missile

Russia has already signalled what its next move might look like.

Putin is preparing to deploy the Oreshnik missile – a Mach 10 terror weapon that can carry multiple nuclear or conventional warheads – to Belarus before the year is out.

The missile, which first saw action in Ukraine in November, is touted as being fast and powerful enough to evade any Western missile defence and hit targets anywhere in Europe.

Putin has bragged that just a few conventional Oreshnik strikes could inflict destruction on par with a nuclear attack.

The implication is grim: Moscow is hitting it could launch a “non-nuclear” strike with nuclear-level impact – a chilling new gray zone in war.

Trump deadline & Medvedev threats

The timing of Russia’s move is no coincidence.

It came days after Trump ordered the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines in response to fiery nuclear threats from Dmitry Medvedev – Putin’s crony and deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council.

Trump’s move is tied to his looming Ukraine peace deadline, demanding the Kremlin strike a deal or face severe new sanctions.

But Medvedev fired back, warning Trump not to play “ultimatum games” with Russia and declaring that “each new ultimatum is a threat and a step toward war.”

Medvedev doubled down on Russia’s hardline stance this week, celebrating the scrapping of the missile moratorium as payback for what he called Nato’s anti-Russian policy.

He posted on X: “This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps.”

Cold War 2.0?

This is no empty rhetoric.

Intermediate-range missiles – flying between 310 and 3400mph – were banned for decades under the 1987 INF Treaty, a cornerstone of Cold War arms control.

But that pact crumbled in 2019, and now the gloves are fully off.

The US says Russia violated the treaty first. Meanwhile, Russia says it’s only reacting to American missile deployments in Europe.

But the result could be a full-blown arms race that looks alarmingly like the 1980s – only this time, with faster missiles, higher stakes and less room for error.

Analysts warn that these weapons are particularly dangerous because they slash response times to minutes – leaving world leaders with little time to distinguish between a real launch and a false alarm.

That hair-trigger dynamic could make a catastrophic miscalculation far more likely.

Putin knows this. He’s gambling the West will blink first.

But with nuclear submarines re-positioned and missiles moving into place on both sides, the world is watching a deadly new chapter unfold — one where fire and fury could come without warning.