Russia free to take any measures on INF deployment — Kremlin
MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/. Russia considers itself entitled to take any relevant measures on the deployment of intermediate-and shorter-range missiles (INF), as it is now unrestricted, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing replying to a question by TASS.
"Russia no longer has any constraints in this regard. Russia does not consider itself limited by anything anymore. Russia considers itself entitled to take relevant measures and steps if necessary," the Kremlin official said.
- The ministry noted certain steps taken by the collective West in the sphere of proliferating such missiles and emphasized that they create a direct threat to Russia’s security.
- The statement stressed that this requires special measures on the part of Russia.
Press review: Russia ends missile moratorium while EU may not jointly buy US arms for Kiev
MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/. Russia ends its moratorium on the deployment of short-and medium-range missiles; the EU is unlikely to jointly purchase US weapons for Ukraine; and Iran forms a Defense Council as it rules out direct dialogue with the US. These stories have topped Tuesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Media: Russia ends moratorium on short-, medium-range missiles
Moscow is ending its moratorium on the deployment of ground-launched short-and medium-range missiles, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced. According to its statement, the West is openly stationing short-and medium-range missiles in various parts of the world, while Russia’s initiatives on the issue have seen no reciprocity, Vedomosti reports.
The Russian Foreign Ministry added that officials from the US and its allies announced plans to ensure ‘long-term’—that is, permanent—presence of such US weapons in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. In particular, this is about the Typhon medium-range missile system deployed to the Philippines, which was delivered to the country under the guise of military drills but remained there afterward. The Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), whose subsequent modifications will have a range of over 1,000 km, was once again tested during an exercise in Australia in 2025. Additionally, the US has announced plans to deploy medium-range missiles to Germany in 2026.
Oleg Barabanov, program director at the Valdai International Discussion Club, does not rule out that Russia’s move to end the moratorium is an element of psychological pressure. Moscow is not seeking to raise the stakes but is rather conducting an informational campaign against the US president. "An arms race between the US and Russia has been going on for years. Now, a new aspect is being added to the Ukrainian theater of war—a global nuclear missile threat," Barabanov said.
According to Dmitry Stefanovich, researcher with the Center for International Security at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations, this is a somewhat belated move to "even up the stakes." However, it’s also clear that tensions continue to mount, with all parties contributing to the process. The expert notes that Russia’s unilateral moratorium never took full effect after the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), even though the initiative had a lot of potential to strengthen strategic stability.
Sergey Oznobishchev, director of the Institute for Strategic Assessments, told Kommersant that although in the short term, an arms race is expected to take place with regard to ground-based short-and medium-range missiles, in the longer run, the parties will try to make an agreement on some limitation measures. In the expert’s view, the current situation is a bit reminiscent of the late 1970s European missile crisis between the Soviet Union and NATO, which actually resulted in the INF Treaty. "After all, the Russian president has repeatedly said that an arms race is not our preference," the analyst emphasized.
Izvestia: EU unlikely to jointly buy US weapons for Kiev
Participation in the United States’ initiative on weapons supplies to Kiev does not require consensus within the European Union, an official at the Dutch embassy in Russia told Izvestia. Earlier, the EU and the US reached a deal, which particularly includes weapons procurement for Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called on the bloc’s members to start purchasing more US weapons for the Ukrainian army as soon as possible. However, US President Donald Trump's initiative is too demanding for many EU nations at this point, experts point out.
Earlier reports said that European countries would use various mechanisms to send US weapons to Ukraine. The options include the handover of weapons from their own stockpiles and later purchases of similar weapons for their needs. Germany was one of the countries that supported the initiative, announcing plans to transfer Patriot systems to Kiev. Denmark also expressed readiness to buy US weapons for Ukraine. The Netherlands pledged to send €500 million worth of US weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces. The NATO chief said that those willing to support Kiev also included Finland, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom and Canada.
The thing to note is that the deals Trump has been making recently tend to only formally document obligations, political scientist Ivan Loshkaryov noted. "But when it comes to details, the setup of agreements often changes. Given that EU countries’ finances are limited and decision-making by EU institutions is complicated, the real scope of weapons supplies to Ukraine will be smaller than announced, and the deliveries will take more time," the expert elaborated.
Clearly, the initiative threatens to have at least several repercussions, including a rise in debt and budget deficit, Loshkaryov noted. Weapons supplies to Ukraine are objectively becoming a burden for European politicians. "In view of low arms output in the US, deliveries to Ukraine leave open the question of EU countries’ rearmament within NATO," the expert stressed.
Another thing to keep in mind is the possibility of a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict, the analyst went on to say. If agreements are reached on the entire range of related issues, a compromise may also be found on weapons supplies. Some weapons could be sent back to NATO countries, or Ukraine could be forced to resell them to pay its debts.
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