Russia warns of nuclear deployment in Europe amid escalating tensions over Ukraine

Russia threatened to deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe on Monday, escalating its stand-off with the West over Ukraine.

Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said that Moscow would turn to the weapons if Nato fails to rule out ever using them itself. The weapons have a top range of 5,000km and so could hit numerous European capitals.

Intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) were banned in 1987 under a treaty signed between Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader, and US President Ronald Regan. Washington quit the agreement in 2019, citing Russian breaches.

Mr Ryabkov denied Russia was planning to invade Ukraine in comments to the state-run RIA Novosti agency. Instead, he said Moscow would “respond militarily” if Nato sought to expand eastwards.

“There will be confrontation, this will be the next step, [previously banned weapons] will appear from our side,” he said.

“They don’t exist now, we have a unilateral moratorium,” he added, referring to the US withdrawal from the INF treaty.

Mr Ryabkov said the Kremlin had a “complete lack of trust” in Nato, which argues there are no new US missiles in Europe and that it is ready to respond to the threat of Russian weapons with a “measured” response.

It came as Boris Johnson and EU chiefs warned Moscow it would face “serious consequences” if it further encroaches on Ukrainian territory.

Nato's allies are growing fearful that Russia could send hordes of troops it has amassed on its border into Ukraine in a repeat of the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

In a phone call with President Vladimir Putin on Monday, Mr Johnson expressed his “deep concern” with Moscow's military build-up on the frontier.

The Prime Minister “empathised the UK's commitment to Ukraine's territorial and sovereignty and warned that any destabilising action would be a strategic mistake that would have significant consequences", said a Downing Street spokeswoman.

Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s foreign minister, added on Monday ahead of a meeting with her EU counterparts in Brussels: “We are convinced that Russia is actually preparing for an all-out war against Ukraine. It's an unprecedented event probably since the Second World War.”

In response to Moscow's provocation, EU foreign ministers agreed to hit targets linked to the Wagner Group, a Russian private military firm, with punitive sanctions, accusing it of destabilising Ukraine and parts of Africa.

Eight people with ties to the mercenaries were slapped with asset freezes and travel bans. Those sanctioned included founder Dmitry Utkin, a former Russian special forces commander decorated by President Putin.

The Wagner boss was accused of “extrajudicial” killings, while Alexander Kuzen, a 44-year-old Russian believed to be a commander in Wagner's 1st Attack and Reconnaissance Company, was said to have destabilised Libya.

Another target, Andrei Roshev, 68, one of the group's founders, was cited as having led mercenary troops in Syria in support of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

“The Wagner Group has recruited, trained and sent private military operatives to conflict zones around the world to fuel violence, loot natural resources and intimidate civilians in violation of international law, including international human rights law,” the EU said in a statement.

Wagner was also accused of having previously offered services to local leaders in sub-Saharan Africa, including Mali and the Central African Republic.

The sanctions are part of a wider retaliatory package being considered by EU ministers to deter any Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Germany on Monday confirmed for the first time it will not allow the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to open if Moscow’s troops cross the Ukrainian border.