Putin: Russia Should Start Producing Previously Banned Intermediate-Range Missiles

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on June 28 at a session of the Security Council in Moscow that his country should start producing short- and intermediate-range missiles that were banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed between the Soviet Union and the United States in 1987. "It looks like we need to begin producing these strike systems, and then, taking into account the actual situation, to make decisions about where exactly to deploy them if it is necessary for our security," Putin said. The INF treaty banned the production, testing, and deployment of land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. Both countries pulled out of the treaty in 2019, blaming each other for violations.