The Pentagon sent a notification to the Senate Armed Services Committee that the administration planned, under terms of the treaty, to withdraw in six months, according to one of the people. Both people requested anonymity to discuss the shift in policy.

The notification came before a Saturday deadline for Russia to destroy all of its ground-launched cruise missiles known as 9M729s, associated equipment and launchers. The suspension represents another flashpoint in US-Russia relations and another repudiation by Trump and his aides of international agreements.

While Europeans and many US lawmakers had hoped to preserve the treaty to stem the proliferation of ground-launched, intermediate-range nuclear missiles, the Trump administration argued that Russia has been in violation for years anyway.

White House National Security Adviser John Bolton has called the treaty outdated and one that doesn’t address the rising threat from China, which isn’t a signatory.

Earlier, US is said to plan suspension of the Nuclear Treaty with Russia

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had warned nations to prepare for the treaty’s likely collapse.

The U.S. argues that Russia has jeopardised the INF treaty for years by deploying ground-launched missiles that fall within the band range of 500km to 5,500km. Russia has denied violating the INF treaty, accused the US of violations, and said withdrawal from the Cold War accord would trigger an arms race.

Trump has been threatening to suspend the treaty for months, although American officials had left open whether the US would simultaneously announce a full withdrawal, triggering a process that would take six months to complete.

Trump indicated in October that he wanted to pull out, but after consulting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other allies decided to delay the suspension. Pompeo said in early December that the US was giving Russia two more months to get back in compliance with the treaty.

In the Senate, Senator Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, and other Democratic senators have drafted a measure that seeks to put new restrictions on the types of weapons the INF was designed to control.

“Blowing up the treaty risks the proliferation of nuclear-capable systems by Russia, threatening Europe and jeopardising decades of bipartisan efforts to reduce nuclear dangers with Russia,” he said in a statement on Thursday