Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred journalists to the Russian defence ministry on Friday when asked about a Reuters report that Russia had fired 9M729 missiles at Ukraine.

A senior Ukrainian source said that Russia has fired the missile — whose secret development prompted the United States to abandon a nuclear arms control treaty with Moscow — at Ukraine 23 times since August this year.

“This question should be addressed to the military — what specific missiles, delivery systems, and weapons are being used. This should be asked of the Ministry of Defence,” Peskov told reporters.

The 9M729 led the United States to quit the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019. Washington said the missile was in breach of the treaty and could fly far beyond its limit of 500 kilometres, although Russia denied this.

“If you remember this story, in fact, the American side did make claims at that time, but the Russian side refuted all these claims very convincingly and, on the contrary, explained that the claims were unfounded,” Peskov said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in 2018 that the 9M729 missile had not been developed or tested for a range equal to or exceeding the 500km limit established by the INF treaty for this class of missiles.