MOSCOW, Russia — In response to U.S. President Joe Biden’s trip to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would suspend participation in a long-standing arms treaty with the United States.
The New START Treaty is a bilateral arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, which was signed in 2010 and entered into force in 2011. It is a follow-on to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) that expired in 2009.
The New START Treaty limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550 on each side, which is down from the limit of 2,200 under the previous START Treaty. It also limits the number of deployed and non-deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments to 800 on each side. The treaty provides for a verification regime, including on-site inspections, data exchanges, and notifications.
Experts fear that Russia’s sudden withdrawal from the treaty could lead to a new arms race.
Tensions between Washington and Moscow have been on the rise since the United States agreed to send a battalion of advanced Abrams Tanks and Patriot Air Defense System to Ukraine.
