Russia to Scrap Missile Moratorium as US Deployments Expand

Russia will lift its self-imposed moratorium on deploying intermediate-range and short-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced in an interview with RIA Novosti. Lavrov accused the United States of deploying such weapons globally, ignoring warnings from Moscow and Beijing.

Lavrov stated that while Russia’s moratorium remains in place for now, it is no longer viable and will likely be abandoned.

He highlighted Moscow’s readiness to take retaliatory measures, pointing to a recent test of the Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile, which targeted the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in late November.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the attack a response to the US-supplied ATACMS missiles and British Storm Shadow missiles used by Ukrainian forces on Russian territory.

The US has said that it plans to deploy long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026. The deployment will include SM-6 systems, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and new non-nuclear hypersonic weapons.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended the move as a necessary deterrent for European security but signaled readiness to reverse course if Russia ends its war in Ukraine. Putin has warned that such deployments could threaten Russian infrastructure with strikes in as little as 10 minutes.

The escalating tensions mark a significant shift since the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. The treaty prohibited land-based missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers and led to the destruction of existing weapons in that category.

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However, the US withdrew from the agreement in 2019 under the previous Trump administration, citing Russia’s alleged violations, including the development of the Novator 9M729 missile (NATO: SSC-8 Screwdriver). Russia, in turn, accused the US of breaching the treaty by deploying the Mk-41 vertical launching system (Mk 41 VLS) in Romania.

In recent years, the Kremlin has repeatedly criticized the US for advancing missile deployment plans in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Putin warned that the breakdown of the INF Treaty could have severe consequences for global security and vowed to respond symmetrically to any US actions.

As global powers position themselves for a new phase of military competition, concerns over a renewed arms race loom large, threatening international stability.