Russia uses 9M729 cruise missile on Ukraine, Zelensky’s FM claims. Here’s why it’s concerning for Trump

Ukraine has alleged in fresh allegations against Russia that Putin's army was using a missile which led to the collapse of a key Cold War–era arms control pact with the United States in the past. Volodymyr Zelensky's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the Russian forces have deployed the ground-launched 9M729 cruise missile. The weapon is also known as the SSC-8 to NATO.

“The use of this system proves Russia’s complete disregard for international arms control norms," Sybiha said in a statement.

The missile was at the centre of the US decision to withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019. The US had argued that the range of the weapon is wya more than the treaty’s 500-kilometre limit. Russia had denied the claim. Then-President Donald Trump formally pulled the US out of the pact, citing repeated Russian violations.

This came after Zelensky said on Thursday (Oct 23) that Kyiv did not use American long-range weapons on Russia in the ongoing war. He also stated that Ukraine's domestically produced long-range capabilities reach 3,000 km.

"I hope that they will make a political decision, positive decision in one or another way to help Ukraine with funds," Zelensky told a press conference in Brussels, where EU leaders discussed the plans.

"Russia brought war to our land, and they have to pay for this war," he said.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the Russian Geographical Society at the Kremlin the same day. He stated in the meeting that the new sanctions imposed by the US on Moscow would not significantly affect the Russian economy.

He also criticised the sanctions by the US, saying no "self-recpecting" country ever does anything under pressure.

Earlier, Russia rejected US President Donald Trump's demand for a ceasefire in the war with Ukraine. The Kremlin hinted that Russia's stance on peace remains unchanged. This came after Trump said last week that the Russian President Vladimir Putin wants a peace deal. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Trump’s demand for “an immediate ceasefire, which has suddenly become a topic of discussion again,” was contrary to what was agreed at the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska in August.

“You see, if we just stop, it means forgetting the root causes of this conflict, which the American administration clearly understood,” Lavrov said, the New York Times reported.

“I am referring to ensuring Ukraine’s nonaligned, nonnuclear status, which implies refraining from any attempts to draw it into NATO," he added.