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.
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.
