Putin resumes missile production, responds to US actions

Putin announced that Russia should resume the production of short- and intermediate-range missiles, which were banned until 2019 under the INF Treaty. On Friday, during a meeting of the Russian Security Council, he stated that such a move would be "a response to the actions of the United States."

Reuters noted that Putin's declaration signals a definitive departure from one of the most important treaties of the Cold War era, which was concluded in response to concerns about a potential arms race between the USA and the Soviet Union.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was signed by the USSR and the USA in 1987. In 2019, during Donald Trump's presidency, Washington withdrew from the agreement, arguing that Russia had violated its provisions. The Kremlin strongly denied these accusations.

On Friday, Putin stated that Russia had not produced such missiles since 2019. "Today, it is known that the United States not only produces these missiles but also deployed them for exercises to Denmark and recently announced that they are in the Philippines. However, it is unknown whether they removed the missiles from there or not," the dictator announced in his latest propaganda speech.

"In any case, we must respond to this, decide what to do next. Judging by everything, we should start producing these offensive missiles and, depending on the real situation, make decisions on where (...) to deploy them," he declared.

The AP agency reminded that after the INF Treaty was terminated, the United States conducted tests of previously banned missiles. In April, the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun quoted the commander of American forces in the Pacific, Gen. Charles Flynn, who said that such missiles would be deployed in this region by the end of the year.

The termination of the INF Treaty was "a milestone in the deterioration of US-Russia relations", AP assessed.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed in 1987 in Washington by the leaders of the USA and the then Soviet Union, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.

It provided for the elimination of these weapons' arsenals and prohibited their production, storage, and use. The treaty covered missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometres. In 2019, the USA withdrew from the treaty, stating that the 9M729 missiles (SSC-8 in NATO classification) placed on Iskander launchers violated the INF agreement.