Moscow abandons unilateral nuclear moratorium

MOSCOW, Aug 5: Moscow has abandoned a unilateral nuclear moratorium that limited deployment of intermediate and short-range missiles, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. Russia will no longer be bound by the moratorium (self-declared) on the deployment of short and medium-range nuclear missiles, it said.

“The Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement on the withdrawal of the moratorium on the deployment of medium and short-range missiles is the result of NATO countries’ (including US) anti-Russian policy,” former President Dmitry Medvedev, currently deputy head of Russia’s powerful Security Council, posted in English on the X social media platform.

“This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps,” he said.

Last week, Trump ordered two US nuclear submarines to be repositioned to “the appropriate regions” following Medvedev’s remark of a war between the US and Russia. Medvedev’s remark was against Trump's previous ultimatum to Putin for a Ukraine ceasefire that was one of Trump's poll promises.

A chronology of the face-off

What did Medvedev say that provoked Trump? Medvedev made a series of incendiary remarks that escalated tensions with the US. Those remarks followed a frustrated Trump's ultimatum to Russia for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire. He is still trying to redeem his poll promise of ending Ukraine war in 24 hours. Putin did not fall in line!

Medvedev accused Trump of playing an “ultimatum game” (for Ukraine ceasefire) with Russia, warning that each new ultimatum was “a threat and a step towards war—not between Russia and Ukraine, but between Russia and his own country (the United States)”.
Medvedev also invoked Russia’s Cold War-era nuclear deterrent system known as the “Dead Hand,” suggesting that Trump should remember how dangerous automated retaliation systems can be.
He mocked Trump’s shifting policies and called him “jittery,” implying that Russia was entirely in the right and would continue on its chosen path.
Trump responded by ordering two US nuclear submarines to reposition to “appropriate regions,” citing Medvedev’s war remarks as “highly provocative” and warning that “words can lead to unintended consequences."

Which treaty did Russia abandon?

On Monday, Russia officially declared it is no longer bound by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty—a Cold War-era (Soviet) agreement signed in 1987 by Reagan and Gorbachev.

The INF Treaty banned ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km.
The US had already withdrawn from the treaty in 2019, under Trump’s first term, citing Russian violations involving the 9M729 missile system.
However, Russia maintained a unilateral moratorium on deploying such weapons—until now.
On Monday, it lifted that moratorium, blaming NATO’s (that includes US) “anti-Russian policy” and recent US missile deployments in Europe and Asia.

Therefore, there was technically no treaty left to abandon, but Russia’s move signals a formal end to even the pretence of a nuclear restraint.