Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia should begin producing short- and medium-range missiles, previously banned under a treaty with the United States that is no longer in force.
“It seems that we need to start producing these strike systems,” the Russian president said during a meeting with senior security officials, referring to missiles with a range of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers, which were subject to controls under an agreement dating from the Cold War.
Washington withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019, citing Moscow’s failure to comply with it. Russia said it would observe a moratorium on the production of such devices if the Americans did not deploy them at a range that would allow them to reach its territory. In his televised speech on Friday, Vladimir Putin said the United States had begun using such missiles during training exercises in Denmark.
“We need to respond to this and make decisions about what to do next in this area. It seems that we need to start producing these strike systems,” he continued. “And then, depending on the reality of the situation, we will make decisions about where to deploy them for our security,” the Russian head of state added.
Several Cold War treaties between Washington and Moscow, intended to limit the nuclear arms race and ease tensions at the height of their rivalry, have ended in recent years. Last year, Russia suspended its participation in the New Sart treaty on strategic nuclear weapons. The United States, for its part, provided Ukraine with short-range missiles to support it in the face of the Russian invasion. Last month, they partially lifted the ban on Ukrainians using these weapons against targets on Russian territory.
