A senior Russian official says Moscow is prepared to take military countermeasures if the United States moves ahead with deploying elements of its Golden Dome missile defense initiative to Greenland.
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, made the remarks on Feb. 3 while visiting China, according to Russian state news agencies. His comments came just ahead of the Feb. 5 expiration of the last remaining bilateral nuclear arms control agreement between Washington and Moscow—the New START treaty.
“This is a new moment, a new reality − we are ready for it,” Ryabkov said in Beijing. He did not specify what steps Russia might take in response to a U.S. missile defense move involving the Arctic island—an autonomous Danish territory—though he suggested he did not see an arms race as inevitable.
“I assure you, this is not going to happen,” he said.
Russia’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for clarification. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Feb. 5 that Russia would continue taking what he described as a responsible approach to strategic nuclear stability despite the treaty’s expiration.
Greenland and New START
President Donald Trump said last month he had agreed on a “framework of a future deal” with NATO related to Greenland, adding that discussions included the missile defense program “as it pertains to Greenland.” The announcement appeared to cool months of rising friction among Denmark, Greenland, European allies, and the Trump White House, which has vowed to gain control of the vast territory. Few details about the framework—reportedly reached without Denmark’s direct involvement—have been made public.
Trump has said more specifics will be disclosed as talks with Denmark and Greenland continue.
The New START treaty was signed in 2010 during the Obama administration, when Dmitry Medvedev was Russia’s president. It limits each side to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and also caps certain missiles and launchers.
Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, told Russian state media on Feb. 2 that if New START ended without a replacement, the world should be “alarmed,” warning it would be the first time since the early 1970s that the two largest nuclear powers would face no agreed limits on their strategic arsenals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is willing to adhere to the treaty’s limits for another year if Washington does the same. Trump has not committed to that approach and has said he wants a stronger, improved version of the agreement. Some analysts argue that could be difficult to negotiate quickly.
“New START’s end brings few benefits and lots of risks to the United States, especially as Washington tries to stabilize relations with rivals like Russia and China,” said Jennifer Kavanagh, director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, a Washington, D.C., think tank. She added that an agreement with Russia could also be important for bringing China into broader nuclear arms control discussions, and warned that trying to pursue a better deal immediately could be riskier than extending what already exists.
The treaty’s expiration also comes amid broader warnings about nuclear risk. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists recently set its Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to catastrophe. In its statement, the Bulletin’s board said plans to deploy Golden Dome—a multilayered missile defense system expected to include space-based interceptors—could raise the likelihood of conflict in space and potentially fuel a new space-based arms race.
The Trump administration envisions Golden Dome, inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, as a combination of space- and ground-based systems extending across Greenland.
Russia’s Arctic posture and mixed messaging
Russian officials have delivered messages that appear to pull in different directions on Trump’s Greenland push. While Moscow has opposed adding U.S. military assets to Greenland, it has also praised Trump’s initiative and criticized Denmark and European leaders who reject annexation.
Russia has also expanded its Arctic footprint in recent years, investing heavily in ports, infrastructure, and vessels tied to the Northern Sea Route—an Arctic shortcut between Europe and Asia. Russia’s bases inside the Arctic Circle outnumber NATO’s by about a third, according to data compiled by the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Reuters news agency in 2022.
