Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russia says "no longer bound" by last nuclear treaty with US
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Russia announced on Wednesday that it is “no longer bound” by the New START nuclear treaty with the United States, the final remaining agreement limiting the strategic nuclear arsenals of the two countries. The treaty is set to expire on February 5, 2026.
"We assume that the parties to the New START treaty are no longer bound by any obligations or symmetrical declarations within the context of the treaty," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Signed in 2010, New START capped deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550 for each side and included mutual inspection mechanisms designed to ensure transparency and reduce the risk of miscalculation.
Russia suspended its participation in the treaty in February 2023, citing geopolitical tensions and Washington’s support for Ukraine. Since then, the agreement has remained in force in name only, with inspections halted and dialogue limited, before reaching its formal expiration without a replacement.
Warnings over global security risks
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that the end of New START places the world in a more dangerous position than at any time in recent decades, due to the absence of binding limits or oversight on the two largest nuclear arsenals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a voluntary one-year extension of the treaty’s numerical limits in September, but no formal steps were taken to implement the idea. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has said he seeks a “better deal” in the future rather than a simple extension of existing terms.
The collapse of New START leaves Washington and Moscow without any legally binding framework governing their strategic nuclear weapons for the first time since the Cold War era.
Fears of a renewed arms race
The absence of constraints has raised alarm internationally, particularly as military technologies advance and China continues to expand its nuclear capabilities.
Analysts warn that allowing New START to expire without a successor agreement could undermine global strategic stability and increase the risk of a renewed nuclear arms race among major powers, further straining an already fragile international security environment.
