Russia ends missile moratorium after Trump's submarine move
What's the story
Russia has officially ended its unilateral moratorium on the deployment of short- and intermediate-range missiles. The decision was announced by the Russian Foreign Ministry on August 4. The move is the latest signal of tensions between Moscow and Washington continuing to escalate, especially with United States President Donald Trump's peace deal deadline (August 8) approaching. On Monday, Trump had ordered two nuclear submarines to "be positioned in the appropriate regions" near Russia.
Escalating tensions
'Conditions for maintaining moratorium have disappeared'
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it no longer felt bound by the moratorium because of recent US actions. "Since the situation is developing toward the actual deployment of US-made land-based medium- and short-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region," it said, "the conditions for maintaining a unilateral moratorium on the deployment of similar weapons have disappeared."
Treaty fallout
US withdrew from INF treaty in 2019
The US had earlier withdrawn from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019, citing Russian noncompliance and China's arms buildup. Russia has since stated that it would not deploy such weapons if Washington did not do so. The treaty had prohibited both countries from deploying missiles with ranges of 1,000-5,500km and 500-1,000km.
Moratorium reassessment
Lavrov warned of end to moratorium in December
However, in December 2024 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said that Moscow would reconsider its commitment to the moratorium due to destabilizing actions from the US. "The US has arrogantly ignored the warnings of Russia and China and in practice has moved on to the deployment of weapons of this class in various regions of the world," Lavrov had said.
Stance shift
Trump takes tougher stance against Russia
President Trump, who had initially shown interest in improving ties with Russia, has recently taken a tougher stance against Moscow. This comes after a major escalation of airstrikes on Ukraine through spring and summer. On July 29, Trump announced tariffs on Russian exports would be imposed within 10 days if the Kremlin didn't end its war in Ukraine.