New missile that pushed Trump to leave nuclear treaty fired by Russia at Ukraine, Reuters reports
A Russian missile whose development pushed U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty back in 2019 has been fired at Ukraine on numerous occasions, Reuters reported on Oct. 31, citing Ukrainian officials.
Russia's 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile, sometimes referred to as the Iskander K to distinguish it from Iskander M ballistic missiles, was recorded flying as far as 1,200 kilometers, according to unnamed Ukrainian officials cited by Reuters.
Signed by then U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987 towards the end of the Cold War, the INF Treaty banned all ground-launched missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers, in an effort to reduce the density of potentially nuclear-armed weapons deployed by Russia and NATO in Europe.
Russia initially claimed that that the missile, like the Iskander M, has a range within to treaty's limits, but reports by U.S. officials and analysts in 2017, claimed that the real range was as high as 2,500 kilometers.
The reports of Russia deploying the 9M729 at a longer range vindicate Trump's decision to withdraw from the treaty, which Moscow only left in August 2025.
"Russia's use of the INF-banned 9M729 against Ukraine in the past months demonstrates (President Vladimir) Putin's disrespect to the United States and President Trump's diplomatic efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine," Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said to Reuters.
According to the officials who spoke to Reuters, Russia attacked Ukraine with the missile 23 over August 2025 alone, as well as on several occasions in 2022.
The strike recorded at a range of 1,200 kilometers was carried out on Oct. 5, the source said.
Since Washington withdrew from the treaty, a new variation of the U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missile — initially only developed for sea-based launches — has had a ground launcher system developed, which would be necessary for the missiles to be transferred to Kyiv in the future.
