Russia continues to produce short- and medium-range missiles
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia has never stopped building short- and medium-range missiles.
According to RIA Novosti, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview on Russia 1 channel that Russia has never stopped building medium- and short-range missiles, even during the suspension of deployment under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
“As soon as we announced the INF Treaty, we made it clear that this only concerned the non-deployment of such weapons, and did not mention the cessation of research and development or the abandonment of these projects. That is, that time was used to create the corresponding systems, to build a sufficiently powerful arsenal in this area. As I understand it, we already have such forces in our hands,” the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized.
Under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the parties pledged not to test and not to deploy ground-launched ballistic or cruise missiles of intermediate range (1,001–5,500 km) and short range (500–1,000 km), as well as launchers for them.
At a Security Council meeting in late June 2024, President Vladimir Putin said that the United States not only produces short- and medium-range ground-launched missiles, but has also sent them to Denmark and the Philippines for exercises. Putin noted that it is still unclear whether the United States has completely withdrawn these weapons from these locations.
Washington unilaterally announced its withdrawal from the INF in early 2019. The agreement officially ended on August 2, 2019.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on August 4 that the country no longer considers itself bound by the INF Treaty. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia reserves the right to deploy medium- and short-range missiles if NATO continues its actions near Russia's borders.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also asserted that Russia's unilateral ban on the INF is coming to a "logical end", because the West does not properly assess Moscow's restraint.
