Russia continued developing intermediate and shorter-range missile systems throughout its self-imposed moratorium on deployment and now possesses a substantial arsenal of such weapons, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said late on Sunday.

"When the moratorium was announced, we made it clear that it applied only to deployment, and did not mention any halt to (research and development) activities," Ryabkov told state-run Rossiya-1 broadcaster, as cited by RIA news agency. He added, "We used this time to develop the appropriate systems and to build a fairly substantial arsenal in this area. As I understand it, we now possess it."

The moratorium was a self-imposed pause by Russia on deploying intermediate and shorter-range missiles, announced after the United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019. Under this arrangement, Moscow pledged not to station such weapons as long as Washington refrained from placing similar systems near Russian territory.

Crucially, the freeze applied only to deployment and did not restrict research, development, or production. This allowed Russia to continue advancing its missile capabilities while maintaining the appearance of restraint, enabling rapid deployment once the moratorium was lifted in 2025.

From moratorium to strategic Response

Ryabkov’s remarks come in the wake of Russia lifting what it called a unilateral moratorium on deploying intermediate-range missiles earlier this month, a move it described as an inevitable response to actions by the United States and its allies.

The comments underscore the strategic backdrop of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed in 1987 by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The treaty banned all ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers, leading to the destruction of 2,692 missiles by 1991. It was considered a landmark step in easing Cold War tensions.

In the 2010s, the United States accused Russia of violating the agreement by developing the Novator 9M729 (NATO designation SSC-8) missile, which Washington claimed exceeded the treaty’s range limit. Russia denied these allegations, insisting the missile’s range was only 480 kilometers. On February 1, 2019, the Trump administration suspended US compliance and began a six-month withdrawal process, formally ending the INF Treaty on August 2, 2019.

Analysts warn that the situation resembles the unstable missile standoff of the 1980s, albeit in a far more complex multipolar environment. With the INF Treaty gone, Europe faces renewed risks of being targeted by both nuclear and conventional missiles. The ability to develop weapons under a deployment freeze shows how nations can exploit treaty ambiguities, while modern missile systems increasingly combine nuclear and conventional capabilities, complicating arms control efforts. As global powers expand their missile arsenals, the prospects for reviving meaningful arms control agreements grow increasingly uncertain.