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3d ago

Russia Exits INF Freeze and Signals Missile Countermeasures

Moscow accused Washington of deploying ground-launched Typhon launchers with Tomahawk cruise missiles in Europe alongside Dark Eagle hypersonic systems in the Asia-Pacific, prompting it to lift its moratorium on intermediate-range missiles.

FILE - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan sit down together inside the Hofdi in Reykjavik, Iceland on Saturday, Oct. 11, 1986 at the start of a series of talks. (AP Photo/Scott Stewart, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 8, 1987, file photo, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, right, shakes hands with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev after the two leaders signed the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty to eliminate intermediate-range missiles during a ceremony in the White House East Room in Washington. (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty, File)
President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters after signing an executive order about the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A Russian ICBM delivery vehicle at the 2018 Victory Day parade in Moscow. Credit: Andrey69/Shutterstock.com

Overview

  • Russia formally declared that it no longer considers itself bound by its self-imposed INF-range missile restrictions and ended its unilateral moratorium.
  • The foreign ministry cited U.S. deployments of Typhon-Tomahawk systems in the Philippines and Dark Eagle hypersonic launchers in Australia during Talisman Sabre drills as justification.
  • Dmitry Medvedev warned on social media that Russia will pursue further military-technical steps to neutralize emerging threats and maintain strategic balance.
  • Only the New START Treaty now curbs U.S.-Russia nuclear arms, but Russia suspended participation in 2023 and the pact expires in February 2026.
  • Washington’s planned episodic deployments of intermediate-range launchers in Germany from 2026 raise concerns over a revived Cold War-style arms race.