Russia accuses US of preparing for Third World War as missile defence shield goes live
A MULTI-MILLION pound missile defence system designed to protect Europe from Iranian and Russian rockets has been switched on for the first time, offering protection to Britain and its allies but angering the Kremlin.
A Romanian special forces officer guards the perimeter during the official inauguration ceremony
The US-run project, which has been 10 years in the making, is designed to shield Nato members from aerial attack.
But Moscow claims the missile shield's real aim is to neutralise Moscow's nuclear arsenal long enough for the US to make a first strike on Russia in the event of war.
When completed, the defensive umbrella will stretch from Greenland in the far north of Europe to the Azores in the south.
Robert Bell, a Nato-based envoy of US Defence Secretary Ash Carter, insisted the new shield was not aimed against Russia.
He added: "We now have the capability to protect NATO in Europe.
"The Iranians are increasing their capabilities and we have to be ahead of that."
The move has provoked the ire of Russian defence chiefs who claim the shield will threaten peace in Europe.
Moscow says Nato is trying to encircle it close to the strategically important Black Sea, home to a Russian naval fleet.
Activation of the shield, which is located at the remote Deveselu air base in Romania, also comes as Nato prepares a new deterrent in Poland and the Baltics, following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The US anti-missile station Aegis Ashore Romania
The shield relies on radars to detect a ballistic missile launch into space.
Tracking sensors then measure the rocket's trajectory and intercept and destroy it in space, before it re-enters the earth's atmosphere.
Moscow claims the missile shield's real aim is to neutralise Moscow's nuclear arsenal
Anti-missile interceptors can be fired from ships stationed in the Mediterranean or Baltics or from fixed positions on the ground.
Adding to Russia's concerns are US plans to start construction on a second missile defence site in Poland, which is due to be ready in 2018.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg delivers his speech during an official inauguration ceremony
The base will give Nato a permanent, round-the-clock shield in addition to radars and ships already in the Mediterranean.
Andrey Kelin, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official, said the shield was "part of the military and political containment of Russia".
He added: "These decisions by Nato can only exacerbate an already difficult situation."
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Washington says Russia has a ballistic missile stockpile, in breach of a treaty agreed by the two powers not to develop and deploy missiles with a range of between 500 km (310 miles) to 5,500 km.
The US declared Russia in non-compliance of the treaty in July 2014.