Russia will abandon its moratorium on deploying intermediate and shorter-range nuclear-capable missiles, citing U.S. deployment of similar weapons in various regions, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced on Sunday.
This decision, which has been hinted at for some time, effectively dismantles what remains of one of the Cold War's pivotal arms control agreements, raising concerns of a renewed arms race between the world's leading nuclear powers, now potentially including China.
Relations between Russia and the United States have plummeted to Cold War-era lows, with both nations lamenting the erosion of arms control frameworks designed to curb the nuclear arms race and reduce the likelihood of conflict.
When asked by Russia's state news agency RIA about the possibility of withdrawing from the New START treaty, set to expire in February 2026, Lavrov responded that there are currently "no conditions" for meaningful strategic dialogue with Washington.
"Our moratorium on deploying intermediate- and shorter-range missiles is no longer feasible and will be discontinued," Lavrov stated. He accused the United States of disregarding warnings from Russia and China, proceeding with the deployment of such weapons globally.
The now-defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1987, marked a historic step in arms control, eliminating an entire class of nuclear weapons. However, the U.S. formally withdrew from the treaty in 2019 under then-President Donald Trump, citing allegations that Russia violated the agreement—a charge Moscow repeatedly denied.
Following the U.S. withdrawal, Russia declared a self-imposed moratorium on developing missiles previously banned under the INF Treaty, including ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 km and 5,500 km (310 to 3,417 miles).
Trump defended the U.S. exit by accusing Russia of years of treaty violations and expressing concerns over China's missile capabilities. U.S. officials specifically pointed to Russia's development of the 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile, known to NATO as the SSC-8, as a breach of the INF Treaty.
In response to the treaty's collapse, Russia proposed keeping its new missiles out of Kaliningrad, its Baltic exclave, but the U.S. has since tested similar weapons.
More recently, on November 21, Russia launched a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile, dubbed "Oreshnik" (Hazel Tree), against Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin described the strike as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory using U.S. and British missiles.