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US-Russia nuclear arms control treaty could end soon

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:


  • A Russian official said that the treaty limiting nuclear weapons could soon end.
  • The New START Treaty was extended in 2021 and will expire on February 2026.
  • The official said that the U.S. has been neglecting Russian interests, which could lead to no renewals to the treaty.

The New START Treaty, a nuclear arms reduction agreement between Russia and the United States, may well expire in 2026 without being extended or replaced — all because of U.S. efforts to assist Ukraine in its “strategic defeat” of Moscow, a Russian official warned.

The 2011 treaty, which limits the nuclear weapons arsenal of both Russia and the U.S., was extended in 2021 until Feb. 4, 2026.

The U.S. has indicated a desire to continue the agreement, but Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the U.S. has been ignoring Russian interests in recent years, even dismantling most of the architecture of arms control.

Ryabkov told the RIA state news agency, “New START may well fall victim to this” and that the absence of a nuclear arms control treaty after 2026 “is quite a possible scenario.” He added, “We are ready for such a scenario.”

Ryabkov’s statements seemed to be a warning that continued U.S. military support for Ukraine can damage the ongoing agreement with Russia.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the U.S. had provided over $27 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, including over 1 million 155mm artillery rounds, 8,500 Javelin anti-tank missile systems, and 1,600 Stinger anti-aircraft rocket systems.

Ryabkov stated, “The entire situation in the sphere of security, including arms control, has been held hostage by the U.S. line of inflicting strategic defeat on Russia. We will resist this in the strongest possible way using all the methods and means at our disposal.”

The New START treaty included regular inspections, but talk on resuming such were suddenly called off in November 2022, with no agreed upon date of resumption.

About 90% of the world’s nuclear warheads are controlled by the U.S. and Russia.

Under the New START Treaty, both sides were limited to 1,550 warheads on deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine ballistic missiles, and heavy bombers. They both met the central limits by 2018.

During the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, the U.S. said that Russia and China have been modernizing and expanding their nuclear arsenal. Officials said that they would continue pursuing arms control to block costly arms races.

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The review warned that if the treaty expired without a new agreement in place, Russia would be “free to expand strategic nuclear forces” that were previously constrained or yet to be covered by a treaty. “Russia is pursuing several novel nuclear-capable systems designed to hold the U.S. homeland or Allies and partners at risk, some of which are also not accountable under New START.”

Source: Reuters

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5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. CPO Bill

    February 2, 2023 at 6:46 pm

    EFF em n the biden!

  2. Bob Olive

    February 2, 2023 at 7:10 pm

    Since the suspension of checks, Russia has probably (very likely) expanded its nuclear force. We do not know how many nuclear weapons Putin has; we do know they got control of all of Ukraine nuclear material by giving them their assurance they would not let anyone attack them and that Russia will be their protector. How can Russia be their protector, when they actually are attacking them in order to reconstitute the old USSR? I believe the UK and the USA were also part of this pact to provide security for Ukraine.

  3. Rosie46

    February 2, 2023 at 7:19 pm

    We should not be in Ukraine. Let Europe get involved. We are going to end up in a war to protect a corrupt government that has paid off our “president” and his crime family. Get us out of there.

  4. Doug

    February 2, 2023 at 7:38 pm

    Zelensky is corrupt as anyone on earth.He is also even though a born jew, now a nazi and leads a nazi unit of Ukraine. That tells me that Putin does not always lie.We do know Biden always lies.Stop spending USA tax money in Ukraine. The .only and military hardware going to Ukraine is another example of a never ending war. Get us out of there and spend taxes on USA needs. America first

  5. CharlieSeattle

    February 3, 2023 at 11:39 pm

    Russia’s new and DEPLOYED Hypersonic (Mach 5+) nuclear capable missiles and Tsunami Torpedos (500 foot waves) already violated the existing treaty.

    The US military does NOT have a DEPLOYED defense against a mass launch of either.

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