Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred journalists to the Russian Defense Ministry when asked whether Russia had fired 9M729 missiles against Ukraine, Reuters reports, News.bg reports.
Earlier, a senior Ukrainian source said that since August this year, Russia had used the missile 23 times against Ukrainian territory. The development of the 9M729 was one of the reasons the US withdrew from the Nuclear Arms Control Treaty with Moscow.
„This question should be asked to the military - what specific missiles, delivery systems and weapons are being used. This should be asked to the Ministry of Defense“, Peskov specified.
The 9M729 missile was cited by the United States as the reason for its withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, because according to Washington it violates the range restrictions of more than 500 km. However, Russia denies these allegations.
“The American side made such allegations at the time, but Russia refuted them very convincingly and explained that they were unfounded“, Peskov added.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated back in 2018 that the 9M729 missile was not developed or tested for a range equal to or greater than the 500 km restrictions established in the treaty for this class of missiles.