About a month after the US government withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty that banned land-based missiles with ranges of 300 to 3,400 miles, Russia has also officially abandoned the agreement. Russian President Vladimir Putin had already announced that his country was going to copy the American move.
For several years, the US has claimed that Russia has missiles that are in violation of the treaty, but is providing incorrect information about their range. When the US pulled out of the treaty last month, President Donald Trump brought up this argument. Trump also mentioned that China has been free to develop missiles banned by the treaty since it never signed the agreement.
Read more: Russia Follows U.S. Out of Landmark Nuclear Weapons Treaty