Russia issues Nuclear Annihilation Warning aimed at US and NATO

Russia announced on Monday that it will no longer follow its self-imposed moratorium on land-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles, citing U.S. and NATO plans to deploy similar weapons in Europe and the Asia-Pacific.

The U.S. and Russia signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 1987, but the U.S. withdrew in 2019, claiming Russia violated the agreement.

Moscow indicated last December that it would also withdraw from the agreement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated to the state news agency RIA Novosti that the agreement was no longer viable, accusing the U.S. of deploying weapons globally.

Tensions between Washington and Moscow have escalated significantly in recent months, particularly regarding the Trump administration’s attempts to negotiate a ceasefire in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Washington of escalating tensions by testing and deploying systems previously banned under the now-defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Moscow claimed that U.S. missile activities in Denmark, the Philippines, and Australia pose a “direct threat” to Russian security.

The Kremlin has warned it will take “military-technical” measures to restore what it calls a strategic balance. Since 2023, the Kremlin has noted the transfer of American ground-based intermediate-range missile systems to European NATO countries for ‘testing’ during exercises with an anti-Russian focus, according to a foreign ministry statement.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that, following the U.S. actions that led to the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 2019, Russia has actively pursued restraint in this area.

This was evident in high-level statements from 2019 to 2020, urging our country to voluntarily restrict the deployment of ground-based INF missiles until similar U.S. missile systems appear in relevant regions.

Russia also urged NATO countries to declare a reciprocal moratorium on the deployment of weapons systems that were previously banned under the INF Treaty.

Additionally, it called on U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region to support its efforts to prevent an arms race in that area. It is important to note that Russian initiatives have not been met with a similar response.

The United States and its allies have not only publicly detailed plans to deploy American land-based INF missiles in different regions, but they have also made significant strides in putting these plans into action.