Putin Says US Forced His Hand on Nuclear Missile Plan

Russian president says missiles banned in late-'80s US-Russia treaty to go into production again
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 28, 2024 1:30 PM CDT
Putin: Russia to Start Making Nuclear Missiles Again
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow on Friday.   (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

A decades-long halt on Russia's production of shorter- and intermediate-range nuclear-capable missiles has come to an end. Vladimir Putin on Friday called for his country to resume the manufacture of ground-based missiles with a range of between 310 and 3,410 miles, which had been banned in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed in late 1987 by then-US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. In 2019, the US pulled out of the treaty under then-President Trump, claiming that Russia had violated the agreement—a claim that Russia denied, per Reuters.

Russia pulled out of the treaty shortly after. At the Friday meeting of Russia's Security Council, Putin accused the US of producing these types of missiles and recently testing them out during exercises in Denmark, forcing Russia's hand. He then insinuated that the alleged missiles were also brought to the Philippines. "Apparently, we need to start manufacturing these strike systems and then, based on the actual situation, make decisions about where—if necessary to ensure our safety—to place them," Putin said. (More Vladimir Putin stories.)

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