The New York Times reported that the US informed NATO allies Russia has tested a ground launched cruise missile (GLCM).   If accurate, this is a violation of the 1987 INF treaty.  The 1987 INF treaty eliminated Russian SS20 and US GLCM and Pershing missiles.  It also prohibited the testing, production and possession of medium-range missiles an area the US military significantly lags in in comparison to Russia and China.  The US has had indications that the Russians were violating the treaty since 2008 but only recently surfaced the issue with allies.

Russia sees intermediate missiles as especially useful in potentially target neighboring nations as well as making up for perceived shortcomings in strategic nuclear systems.  The US on the other hand has traditionally relied on its Air Force to conduct these types of strikes.  Further, because of the difficulty in confirming what types of warheads are on these systems the US has traditionally avoided fielding these types  of systems.