The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed in Washington on 8 December 1987 by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, and entered into force on 1 June 1988. It was the first arms control agreement to eliminate an entire class of nuclear weapons rather than simply cap their numbers.
The treaty banned all ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km, along with their launchers. It covered both nuclear and conventionally armed systems, but did not restrict air- or sea-launched missiles in the same range bracket. By the implementation deadline of 1 June 1991, the two parties had destroyed roughly 2,692 missiles, including the US Pershing II and BGM-109G Gryphon and the Soviet SS-20 Saber, SS-4, and SS-5. The treaty introduced intrusive on-site verification, including portal monitoring at production facilities, that became a template for later agreements such as START.
The INF Treaty grew directly out of the late-1970s "Euromissile crisis," when NATO's 1979 dual-track decision paired deployment of US Pershing IIs in Western Europe with an offer to negotiate. After the Soviet collapse, the treaty's obligations extended to several successor states, with Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan participating in implementation.
The agreement unravelled over the 2010s. The United States, beginning under the Obama administration and formally in 2014, accused Russia of violating the treaty by developing the 9M729 (SSC-8) cruise missile. Russia denied the charge and raised counter-complaints about US missile defense launchers in Europe. On 1 February 2019 the Trump administration announced suspension and notice of withdrawal; the treaty terminated on 2 August 2019. Its collapse removed a major pillar of European security architecture and has fueled renewed debate over deploying intermediate-range systems in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, particularly given China's large arsenal in this range bracket, which was never covered by the bilateral accord.
Example
In February 2019, citing Russia's deployment of the 9M729 cruise missile, the United States formally suspended its obligations under the INF Treaty, leading to the treaty's termination six months later.
Frequently asked questions
Washington argued that Russia's 9M729 (SSC-8) ground-launched cruise missile exceeded the 500 km range limit, a violation it said Moscow refused to remedy. Russia denied the allegation, and the treaty terminated on 2 August 2019.
Keep learning