Ukraine has suspended participation in Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

Ukraine has suspended participation in The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty), the country's Foreign Ministry said.

"We initiated the suspension of the fulfillment of obligations under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe — the next step for our strengthening after the suspension of the Ottawa Convention (on the prohibition of anti—personnel mines)," the report said.

The CFE Treaty establishes a limit on the number of combat tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery systems of caliber 100 mm and above, combat aircraft and attack helicopters in the European zone from the Atlantic Ocean to The Ural Mountains. It was signed in the early 1990s, about 30 states became participants.

On July 15, Vladimir Zelensky signed a law suspending the convention on anti-personnel mines for the country. The document obliged the participants to destroy stocks of such shells.

Russia suspended its participation in the CFE Treaty back in 2007 and completed the procedure for withdrawing from this agreement in 2023. Moscow noted that NATO "as a result of the expansion exceeded the levels set for it by the treaty" and therefore proposed to change the terms of the document, but the parties failed to agree, which led to Russia's decision of 2007. NATO countries suspended their participation in the CFE Treaty after Moscow completed its withdrawal from this agreement.

Last year, countries such as Belarus, Turkey, Hungary and Moldova decided to suspend their participation.