Putin suspended Russia's participation in the INF Treaty

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree "On the suspension by the Russian Federation of the implementation of the Treaty between the USSR and the United States on the elimination of their medium-range and shorter-range missiles." The document was published on the Kremlin website . The decree came into force from the date of signing. Russia's participation in the INF Treaty has been suspended "until the United States eliminates its violations of obligations under the named Treaty or until its termination."

Since February 2, the United States has suspended the fulfillment of its obligations under the Treaty. Russia was accused of "significant violation" of the INF Treaty. The United States demanded that Russia destroy the ground-launched cruise missile, which, according to Washington, violates the agreement.

The Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range Missiles between the USSR and the USA was signed by Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan on December 8, 1987. It entered into force on June 1, 1988. For the first time in history, the treaty made it possible to eliminate a whole class of weapons: the parties pledged to destroy all complexes of ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles of medium (1000-5500 km) and shorter (from 500 to 1000 km) ranges within three years, and also not to produce, test or deploy such missiles in future.