Infographic | Today in History: Reagan and Gorbachev Sign the INF Treaty

1987: On December 8th, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The treaty was the first in which the United States and Soviet Union agreed to eliminate a weapons class and reduce the number of weapons in their nuclear stockpile.
2014: The United States claimed that Russia was in violation of the INF Treaty.
2019: The Trump administration decided to fully pull out of the agreement.
2022: During Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they have threatened Ukraine and Western Europe with the use of nuclear weapons, declared intentions to increase their nuclear stockpile, and postponed negotiations of the New START Treaty.

Further Resources 

• Listen to a recording of Reagan and Gorbachev from the INF Treaty signing, courtesy of the Kennan Institute audio archive: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/reagan-gorbachev-sign-inf-treaty-121987-038
• Read “Forgotten Parties to the INF” by Mariana Budjeryn and Ambassador Steven Steiner for the Sources and Methods blog, which includes Amb. Steiner’s firsthand account of INF Treaty negotiations: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/forgotten-parties-to-the-inf
• Learn more about Vladimir Putin’s nuclear posturing during Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine with Boris Grozovski’s analysis for the Russia File blog: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/vladimir-putins-game-chicken 
• Explore Mikhail Gorbachev's legacy as the final Soviet leader in the Gorbachev Retrospective: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/collection/gorbachev-retrospective