In August 2019, the United States formally withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which limited the development and deployment of ground-based missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. Russia denounced the move as a risk to global security.
"The announcement that the relevant research work and a series of measures to prepare for the creation of such systems was made several years ago. We have wasted no time. And I think that NATO's increasingly aggressive manifestations towards us and the need to give these manifestations the toughest possible rebuff in this area can have a certain impact in terms of intensifying the schedules," Ryabkov told reporters.