A cruise missile developed in secrecy by Russia, which led to President Trump’s decision to withdraw from a significant nuclear arms deal with Moscow during his initial term, has reportedly been used in recent strikes against Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s foreign minister.

Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, has officially stated that Russia has deployed the 9M729 ground-launched missile in combat scenarios, with 23 instances of its use against Ukraine since August, and twice in the previous year, as reported by Reuters.

This missile, known as the 9M729, is capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads and is suspected to have a range exceeding 1,500 miles. Its development was a key factor in Trump’s 2019 decision to exit the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a pact over three decades old.

Initially signed in 1987 between the United States and the then-Soviet Union, the treaty successfully resulted in the dismantling of 2,692 nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 km and 5,500 km, playing a significant role in the conclusion of the Cold War.

Since 2014, U.S. officials had accused Russia of contravening the treaty during the Obama administration. However, it was under the Trump administration that the U.S. formally exited the treaty in August 2019, citing the 9M729 as a violation due to its capability to surpass the treaty’s 500 km range limit, a claim that Russia has consistently refuted.

Critics at the time worried that the move, which produced no proper follow-on agreement, would spur an arms race.

That concern appears to have come to fruition, with Trump earlier this week directing the Pentagon to immediately start testing nuclear weapons on an equal basis to Russia and China. That came after Moscow said it had successfully tested the Burevestnik cruise missile on Oct. 21 and a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone Tuesday. 

Russia’s use of the 9M729 includes an Oct. 5 flight of more than 1,200 km before it hit Ukraine, a source told Reuters.

“Russia’s use of the INF-banned 9M729 against Ukraine in the past months demonstrates [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s disrespect to the United States and President Trump’s diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Sybiha said in a statement.

Ukraine for months has pressed the Trump administration to help boost Ukraine’s long-range firepower via U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles, arguing it would help bring Russia to the table for peace talks. 

But Moscow, which began its war in Ukraine in February 2022, has warned Washington that providing the missiles would be a dangerous escalation. Trump has said the transfer would be dangerous, difficult and impractical, due to the training needed to use the weapons.