US Started Producing Intermediate-range Missiles 2 Years Before it Pulled out of INF Treaty: Russia

Russia released satellite images to prove the United States violated Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty two years back, after the US President Donald Trump recently announced that they are pulling out of the arms control agreement.

An exclusive satellite footage published in Ruplty, released by the Russian defense ministry, shows a Raytheon Corporation plant located in Tucson, Arizona, preparing for the production of missiles prohibited under the arms control agreement.

“In order to create medium and shorter-range missiles banned by the INF [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces] Treaty,” the Russian Defence Ministry said.

As evidence, Moscow released an image dated December 3, 2018, showing a massive factory complex, including three production areas, plus one still under construction, along with a test area, power station, and semi-underground storage facilities.

Russia suspended its obligations under the INF Treaty on Saturday, mirroring the US move to scrap the treaty, which bans land-based ballistic and cruise missiles in the 500-5,500 km range. The INF Treaty was signed in 1987, at the end of the Cold War, and aimed primarily at reducing the threat of a nuclear war in Europe.