Russia issues nuclear threats aimed at U.S. and NATO

Russia recently announced that it will no longer abide by a self-imposed moratorium on deploying land-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles, citing U.S. and NATO plans to field similar weapons in Europe and the Asia-Pacific. Knewz.com has learned that the decision marks the latest escalation in deteriorating relations between Moscow and Washington, already strained by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Exit from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was signed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987. However, the U.S. withdrew from the pact in 2019 under President Donald Trump, who accused Russia of violating the treaty by developing prohibited missile systems. Russia signaled its own exit last year, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told state news agency Ria Novosti in December that the agreement was “no longer viable,” alleging that Washington was deploying banned weapons worldwide. Recently, the Russian Foreign Ministry formally declared that the moratorium it had maintained since the treaty collapsed was over.

Medvedev blames NATO countries

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, placed direct blame on NATO governments for the collapse of the moratorium on short- and medium-range nuclear missiles. Writing in English on X, he said, “The Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement on the withdrawal of the moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range missiles is the result of NATO countries’ anti-Russian policy. This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps.”

Russian Foreign Ministry accuses the U.S.

In its statement, the ministry accused the U.S. of destabilizing global security by testing and moving weapons once banned under the INF Treaty. “In specific terms, since 2023, we have been recording precedents of the transfer of American systems capable of ground-based launch of intermediate-range missiles to European NATO countries for ‘testing’ of these weapons during exercises that have a clear anti-Russian focus,” the ministry said. Russia warned that deployments in countries such as Denmark, the Philippines and Australia pose a “direct threat” to Russian security and pledged to take “military-technical” measures in response.

U.S. maintains Russia is to blame

While NATO has not yet issued a collective response to Moscow’s announcement, the U.S. has long insisted that Russia was to blame for the collapse of the INF Treaty. In August 2019, then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper said, “Russia has failed to comply with its obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and as such, the United States has withdrawn from the INF Treaty effective today, Aug. 2, 2019. This withdrawal is a direct result of Russia’s sustained and repeated violations of the treaty over many years and multiple presidential administrations.”

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