A test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile from the Kapustin Yar test site, on 12 April 2024. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry

The Russian Foreign Ministry has announced the lifting of a unilateral moratorium on the deployment of intermediate- and shorter-range ground-based missiles, according to a statement published on its website on Monday.

Russia imposed the unilateral moratorium after Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019, which banned the deployment of ground-based missiles with ranges between 500km and 5,500km.

The ministry said its hand had been forced by steps taken “by the collective West” that would create “destabilising missile capabilities” in regions adjacent to Russia.

The statement accused NATO of being unwilling to declare a reciprocal moratorium in order to prevent an arms race, and mentioned Moscow’s unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with Washington and its partners, saying the US was actively testing and deploying weapons around the globe, which had previously been banned under the INF Treaty.

“Our repeated warnings on this account have been ignored, and the US-made ground-based INF systems are being deployed in Europe and the Asia-Pacific,” the statement read.

Following the Foreign Ministry statement, Russian former president Dmitry Medvedev warned of “further steps” ahead. Writing on X, he said the decision was a result of “NATO countries’ anti-Russian policy”, saying Russia’s “opponents” would now have to reckon with a “new reality”.

The foreign ministry’s statement came amid reports of Russia closing its airspace over its Kapustin Yar test site in the southern Astrakhan region, which has previously been used to launch Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Ukraine. The flight ban will remain in place until Friday.