Russia Ends Missile Deployment Moratorium Amid U.S. Tensions

The Demise of Treaties, and the Rise of Arms Concerns
After the United States pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019, Russia offered a unilateral moratorium under which it would not deploy land-based missiles within the ranges covered by that treaty if Washington did the same. That position has now changed.

The Foreign Ministry said that the changes in national security, including what it has described as prospects of deployment of U.S.-made land-based missiles near Russia's borders, have made it impossible for Moscow to keep observing the moratorium. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had already said in December that Moscow could respond to what he called "destabilising actions" by the U.S. and NATO in strategic defence.

Kremlin calls on to be cautious following Trump's comments about nuclear submarine
Meanwhile, on the same day, the Kremlin responded cautiously to U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks that he had ordered two U.S. nuclear submarines to be moved in response to allegations by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that war impended.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the move, noting that US submarines often carry out missions on combat duty. He underlined that Moscow would not enter a public exchange of words about nuclear deployments and added that rhetoric should be moderated. "Of course, we believe that everyone must be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric," Peskov said.

The developments highlight the further erosion of the arms control and strategic dialogue between the two nuclear superpowers, as there have been renewed fears of arms races in key geopolitical arenas.