Russia continues to produce short- and medium-range missiles.

According to RIA Novosti, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, in an interview on Russia 1 channel, said 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.

At the end of June 2024, at a Security Council meeting, President Vladimir Putin said that the US not only produces short- and medium-range ground-launched missiles, but also sent them to Denmark and the Philippines for exercises. Mr. Putin noted that it is still unclear whether the US has completely withdrawn these weapons from the above locations.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 affirmed that Russia's unilateral ban on the INF is coming to its "logical end", because the West does not properly assess Moscow's restraint.