US, NATO warn of ‘dangerous’ Russian plan to grow nuclear arsenal

Officials in the U.S. and Europe are raising alarms about Russia’s’ new plan to add 40 new missiles to its nuclear arsenal.

“This nuclear saber-rattling of Russia is unjustified. It’s destabilizing and it’s dangerous,” warned NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a meeting with the head of the European Commission in Brussels.

{mosads}In the U.S., Secretary of State John Kerry warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s likely “posturing” threatened to send the world back into the Cold War.

“Of course it concerns me,” Kerry told reporters, in a surprise appearance at the State Department’s daily press briefing.  

“It’s really hard to tell, but nobody should hear that kind of announcement from the leader of a powerful country and not be concerned about what the implications are,” he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Putin declared that Moscow would significantly bulk up its nuclear arsenal by adding 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles.

“More than 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles able to overcome even the most technically advanced anti-missile defense systems will be added to the makeup of the nuclear arsenal this year,” Putin said at an arms fair in Russia, according to reports.

Putin’s pledge came after the U.S. proposed increasing its military presence in Eastern European nations along Russia’s border, amid increased tensions between Russia and the West following its incursions into Ukraine. Western leaders have accused Russia of meddling in Ukraine and stoking the mood of pro-Russian separatists.