Putin instructed to monitor the steps of the United States on the development of the INF program

He stated this after an operational meeting with members of the Security Council, the main topic of which was the US withdrawal from the INF Treaty.

According to the president, if it is confirmed that the United States has completed development and started producing medium-range and shorter-range missiles, Russia "will be forced to begin the full-scale development of similar missiles."

“Until such systems are commissioned by the Russian army, the real threats that arise for Russia in connection with the United States’s withdrawal from the Treaty on Medium and Shorter-Range Missiles will be reliably defended by the means we already have,” he noted.

Among such weapons are air-launched missiles "X-101" and "Dagger", sea-based "Caliber", "as well as promising complexes, including hypersonic systems like" Zircon ", the president stressed.

“In this regard, taking into account the current situation, I instruct the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia to carefully and carefully observe the further steps of the United States in developing, producing and deploying medium and short-range missiles,” Putin said.

Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Ryabkov said that he sees no reason for revising the Russian military doctrine after the collapse of the INF Treaty.