Russia “no longer considers itself bound” to a self-imposed treaty between the United States and Moscow that prohibits deploying intermediate-range missiles, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was a pact made in 1987, during the Cold War, which banned ballistic and cruise missiles launched from land with ranges from 311 to 3,418 miles. Both the Soviets and the United States eliminated a total of more than 2,600 missiles as a result.
Since 2014, during the Barack Obama administration, the U.S. has accused Russia of violating the treaty, which Russia has denied. In 2019, during the first Donald Trump administration, the U.S. pulled out of the agreement entirely, claiming Russia violated the treaty by deploying 9M729 cruise missiles.
The U.S. said despite withdrawing from the treaty that Washington was still adhering to the pact’s restrictions, according to an article by the New York Times. Meanwhile, in Moscow’s statement on the foreign ministry website, it said the opposite was true: the U.S. was moving to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Europe and Asia, meaning the “unilateral moratorium on the deployment of similar weapons” not only wasn’t in place anymore, but “ceased to exist.”
“The Russian Federation has been proactively making efforts to promote restraint in this [the intermediate-range nuclear missile] area,” the statement said. “However, we have to state that Russian initiatives have not been reciprocated. The United States and its allies have not only openly declared plans to deploy US ground-launched INF-range missiles in various regions, but have also made significant progress in the practical implementation of their intentions.”
The Russian Federation goes on to say it “no longer considers itself bound by the relevant previously adopted self-restrictions.”
This move by Russia comes after Trump, reacting to posts on X by former Russian president and current security official Dmitry Medvedev, said on his Truth Social account over the weekend that he was repositioning two nuclear submarines closer to Russia.
The statement added that “it is evident that US-made weapons falling due to their specifications into the category of ground-launched INF-range missile systems are increasingly emerging in various regions, including those of particular importance to the Russian Federation in terms of national security,” and that “Russia has consistently made it clear that such a scenario will demand that our country take offsetting military-technical measures in order to counter newly emerging threats and maintain strategic balance.”
“The Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement on the withdrawal of the moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range missiles is the result of NATO countries’ anti-Russian policy,” Medvedev said darkly on X Monday. “This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps.”
With both parties withdrawn, the New START Treaty is the only arms control agreement remaining between Russia and the U.S. New START expires in February 2026.
