The US decision to base interceptors and radars in the Czech Republic and Poland, as a part of its Ballistic Missile Defence shield in Europe, has forced Russia to take a series of counter measures. Offensive measures include deployment of S-400 Triumph air defence missiles and a successful test of a sea based ballistic missile on 7 August 2007. Defensive measures include Russia's withdrawal from a number of arms control treaties. Recently, Russia has indicated its intention to withdraw from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Force treaty (INF) and has suspended its participation in the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty.

Russia's emergence as an economically vibrant state with its massive energy resources has enabled it to challenge the US domination in Europe. Through these strategic moves Russia is hoping to gain greater influence in Europe revolving around its geopolitical assets in energy, most notably oil and natural gas. It is simultaneously conscious that if it does not act decisively at this stage, it may soon be marginalized by the US.

Russian withdrawal from arms control treaties can be traced to the US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Defence treaty (ABM, in 2001). The ABM treaty prevented the US and USSR from deploying national missile defence against strategic ballistic missiles. The credibility of the mutual assured deterrence was based on the ABM treaty, which ensured mutual vulnerability to each other's strategic assets. This was designed to strengthen deterrence and was considered to be the foundation of subsequent strategic limitation treaties. The US withdrawal from the ABM treaty thus served a serious blow to a series of arms control agreements.

The INF treaty requires the US and USSR to permanently forswear all their nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic missiles with ranges of 500-5,500 miles. On 10 February 2007, during the Russian President's speech at Munich, Russia indicated that it might withdraw from the INF treaty. The international community fears that INF missiles deployed in Russia could pose more of a threat to Europe than to the US. As a result, European states would feel insecure and would deploy corresponding INF missiles in Western Europe. Russian withdrawal from the treaty could be seen as a political move rather than having any military advantages because Russian ICBMs require minimum distances in order to be effective, and Russia's growing fleet of road mobile Topal M missiles, rail mobile systems and submarine ballistic missiles can be positioned so as to put required targets within range. Russia could also use air-launched cruise missiles, which are not restricted by the INF treaty. Finally, Russia could also target 10 US missile defence interceptors by deploying the short-range Iskander-M, which is conventionally an armed ballistic missile.

On 14 July 2007, Russia formally suspended its participation in the CFE treaty. This treaty set limits between the NATO group and Warsaw on the specified military equipment known as Treaty Limited Equipment (TLE) in the Atlantic to Urals Zone (ATTU). It was agreed that neither side would have more than 20,000 tanks, 20,000 artillery pieces, 30,000 armored combat vehicles (ACVs), 6,800 combat aircraft and 2,000 attack helicopters. In 1999, Russia proposed amendment to this treaty but the West has not yet ratified these amendments. Russia suspended this treaty so as to protest the failure of the West to ratify it. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a Russia-NATO council in Oslo said that "None of the NATO members are fulfilling this agreement, and we don't want to look like we're taking part in a theater of the absurd." He also said that "Relations in the Russia-NATO council are lacking a necessary degree of trust."

Russian withdrawal from the CFE treaty has many implications. First, it would allow Russia to deploy additional troops in its southern and northern flanks; and second, it would bring an end to mutual inspections and confidence-building measures, which were part of this treaty. While suspending its participation from the CFE treaty, Russia said that it would not be bound by any limitation on conventional weapons, which indicate that this would have tremendous effects on European security and US-Russian relationship. It would establish Europe as the battleground between Russia and the US. This situation is very alarming for the US as it does not want to witness the onset of a new cold war, particularly at a time when it is waging a war on terrorism.