WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- Is Russia serious about deploying its nuclear bombers in Cuba to retaliate against U.S. ballistic missile defense deployments in Poland or Lithuania?

The story broke Monday this week when the Russian newspaper Izvestia, citing what it described as "a high placed source" in the Russian government, said if the United States went ahead with its plans to deploy Ground-based Mid-course Interceptors in Poland or Lithuania, the Kremlin could retaliate by basing its Tupolev Tu-160 White Swan supersonic nuclear bombers -- NATO codename Blackjack -- in Cuba.

The U.S. government took the threat seriously and lost no time in responding to it. On Tuesday, Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, head of USAF Transport Command who has been nominated to succeed Gen. T. Michael Moseley as chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, told his confirmation hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee that Russia would cross "a red line" if it made such a move.

"I certainly would offer best military advice that we should engage the Russians not to pursue that approach," he said. "And if they did, I think we should stand strong and indicate that that is something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America."

It should be noted the Russian government has carefully sought to avoid making any open threat or incendiary comments about the potential threat and it has carefully avoided being drawn out on the issue. The Defense Ministry in Moscow issued a statement saying the Izvestia story was palpably false and that it was even written under a pseudonym and quoted a non-existent organization among its sources.