Russia announced it will no longer observe the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with the United States, citing NATO’s “destabilising missile build-up” as a direct threat to its security. The decision came just days after US President Donald Trump ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned near Russian waters.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the conditions for maintaining a unilateral moratorium on deploying medium- and short-range missiles have “disappeared” due to Western actions in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Former president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, warned that this is “a new reality” opponents must reckon with, hinting at further measures.
The INF Treaty, signed in 1987 by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan, banned ground-launched missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometres. The US withdrew from the agreement in 2019, accusing Moscow of violations. Russia had pledged not to deploy such weapons unless Washington did so first, but recent US and NATO moves prompted the Kremlin to abandon its restraint.
The development marks another escalation in already strained US-Russia ties, with fears of a renewed missile race in both Europe and Asia.
