This Friday, June 28, 2024, Vladimir Putin indicated that Russia should produce short and medium range missiles which were previously banned.
The Kremlin master 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begin producing short- and medium-range missiles, previously banned under a treaty with the United States that is no longer in force.
A broken treaty
“It looks like we have to start producing these strike systems”the Russian president said during a meeting with senior security officials, referring to missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers, which were subject to controls under a Cold War-era agreement.
Washington withdrew from this Treaty on Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) in 2019, citing its non-compliance by Moscow. Russia then assured that it would observe a moratorium on the production of such devices if the Americans did not deploy them at a distance that would allow them to reach its territory.
Lifting of bans
In his televised address on Friday, Putin claimed that the United States had begun using such missiles during training exercises in Denmark. “We have to react to that and make decisions about what we need to do next in this area. It looks like 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.”added the Russian head of state.
Several Cold War treaties between Washington and Moscow designed to limit the nuclear arms race and ease tensions at the height of their rivalry have ended in recent years. Russia last year suspended its participation in the New START 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.
