Russia ends unilateral moratorium on deploying intermediate- and shorter-range missiles

Russia is formally abandoning its unilateral moratorium on deploying intermediate- and shorter-range missiles. In an official statement from the Foreign Ministry, Moscow said it is reacting to the buildup of “destabilizing missile capabilities” by the “collective West” in regions adjacent to Russia. The ministry stated that the Kremlin will make decisions on missile deployments “based on analysis of American and other Western intermediate- and shorter-range missile activities.”

In summer 2024, the United States announced “episodic deployments” of long-range weapons on German territory. In response, Vladimir Putin threatened that Russia would abandon its unilateral moratorium on deploying weapons systems banned under the defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Under its moratorium, Moscow stated it would not deploy such missiles as long as NATO refrained from doing so. However, in 2024, the Russian Foreign Ministry officially announced that production of such weapons would resume.