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Despite years of warnings, Russia has doubled down on its previously alleged violation of a three-decade-old nuclear arms control treaty by deploying a banned intermediate-range ground-launched cruise missile. Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, of the missile to Congress on Wednesday, calling it a violation of “the spirit and intent�� of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, commonly known as the INF Treaty. “We believe that the Russians have deliberately deployed it in order to pose a threat to NATO and to facilities within the NATO area of responsibility,�� he added.

Western analysts have voiced bewilderment over why Russia would violate the INF Treaty now, given the potential costs. Among other consequences, the U.S. Senate will not ratify another Russian-U.S. arms control treaty until this issue is resolved. But Russia has its own military reasons to seek intermediate-range ground-based missiles as a supplement to its sea- and air-launched missiles and a complement to its conventional and strategic nuclear forces. ...