Russia will no longer stop itself from deploying short- and medium-range nuclear missiles, sounding the death knell for the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The world is officially entering another nuclear arms race. And ground-based missiles will be in focus once again, for the first time since the Cold War.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF Treaty, was signed on December 8, 1987. The signatories were the US, under former President Ronald Reagan, and the Soviet Union, under General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. The INF Treaty was an arms control agreement. It banned the US and the USSR from having short- and medium-range, ground-launched missiles and missile launchers.
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Shorter-range meant 500-1,000 kilometres. Intermediate-range meant 1,000-5,500 kilometres. The restrictions only applied to ground-launched missiles. Air- and sea- launched weapons were exempt from the range restrictions. But both America and the Soviet Union agreed to ban their respective ground-launched arsenals.
After the treaty was ratified, both countries began dismantling their existing stockpiles. By May 1991, all the missiles covered under the treaty were destroyed. Together, the US and the USSR destroyed 2,692 of their own missiles. It was a major win for nuclear disarmament, and a move towards peace.
But during Donald Trump’s first term as President, the US accused Russia of violating the INF Treaty. The US said that the 9M729 missile system Russia had developed was banned under the INF. The Novator 9M729, known as the SSC-8 by NATO countries, is a cruise missile. Russia claimed it had a range of under 500 kilometres, so within INF limits. But the US claimed the 9M729’s real range exceeded 2,000 kilometres. Moscow denied the American accusations, and even let foreign military attaches inspect the missile. But Washington wasn’t convinced, so it pulled out of the INF Treaty in August 2019.
Days after the exit, the US test fired a missile which had a range greater than 500 kilometres. The new arms race had begun. Since then, the US has inducted the Typhon Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system. And the Dark Eagle Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW). Both these systems would not have been permitted under the INF Treaty.And Russia has taken note.
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Russia initially said it was maintaining a self-imposed moratorium on short- and medium-range missiles, even after the US had pulled out of the INF Treaty. But now, Moscow says it sees no point in holding back. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it was officially ending its missile moratorium. So, six years after Trump pulled out of the INF treaty, Russia has officially entered the new arms race too. The de-escalation that Reagan and Gorbachev had achieved is officially over. And a new era of nuclear brinkmanship is upon us.
