Making of missile used in Ukraine led Trump to quit N-pact, says Kyiv

US ended nuclear arms control treaty with Russia in 2019 over its secret development

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Components of the SSC-8/9M729 cruise missile system on display in Russia in 2019. Since August 2025, Russia has fired the 9M729 missile at Ukraine 23 times, according to a senior Ukrainian official.

(REUTERS)

Russia has in recent months attacked Ukraine with a cruise missile whose secret development prompted Mr Donald Trump to abandon a nuclear arms control pact with Moscow in his first term as US president, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.

Mr Sybiha’s comments are the first confirmation that Russia has used the ground-launched 9M729 missile in combat — in Ukraine or elsewhere.

Russia has fired the missile at Ukraine 23 times since August, a second senior Ukrainian official told Reuters. Ukraine also recorded two launches of the 9M729 by Russia in 2022, the source said.

Russia’s Defence Ministry did not immediately reply to a written request for comment.

The 9M729 led the United States to quit the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019. Washington said the missile was in breach of the treaty and could fly far beyond its limit of 500km, although Russia denied this.

The missile, which can carry a nuclear or conventional warhead, has a range of 2,500km, according to the Missile Threat website produced at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

A military source said a 9M729 fired by Russia on Oct 5 flew more than 1,200km to its impact in Ukraine.