The Russian Missile That Killed the INF Treaty Found in Wreckage in Ukraine

Images of debris from Russian strikes on Ukraine strongly indicate Moscow has used the nuclear-capable 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile, a weapon whose development helped trigger the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). 

This was reported by Reuters on February 26.

Two specialists based their analysis on photographs of fragments provided to Reuters by Ukrainian law enforcement sources, which is the first published visual evidence corroborating earlier reporting that Russia has used the missile in the war.

The 9M729 is a Russian ground-launched cruise missile designed for the Iskander system and capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

The United States quit the INF Treaty in 2019 under President Donald Trump after Washington said the 9M729 exceeded the treaty’s 500 km limit, an allegation Russia denied.

Known cases of the use of 9M729 by Russia in Ukraine

• Russia fired the 9M729 at Ukraine twice in 2022, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha;

• Between August and October 2025, Sybiha reported that Russia launched the missile 23 times;

• Ukraine’s General Prosecutor’s Office said one 9M729 launched on October 5, 2025, traveled more than 1,200 km before hitting a home near Lviv, killing five civilians;

• A Ukrainian law enforcement source reported that Russia fired at least four more 9M729 missiles on February 17, 2026.

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Category

War in Ukraine

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Jeffrey Lewis, a missile analyst, said it was surprising Moscow was willing to risk revealing sensitive information by deploying a nuclear-capable system in Ukraine, since experts can evaluate its performance and examine recovered fragments.“

“Russia may have a relatively small stockpile of sophisticated cruise missiles, and so it’s willing to dip into its longer-range stockpile,” he said.

Earlier, it was reported that Russia used the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine for the first time, marking the combat debut of a system that would have been banned under the INF Treaty.

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