AP
Moscow, Updated At : 02:37 PM Feb 05, 2026 IST
The last remaining nuclear arms agreement between Russia and the United States expired Thursday, lifting limits on the two biggest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than half a century. Many analysts warn the end of New START could pave the way for an unconstrained nuclear arms race.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had said last year he would be willing to honor the treaty’s limits for another year if the United States did the same, but US President Donald Trump did not commit to an extension.
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said Putin spoke about the pact’s lapse with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday and that Washington had not replied to Russia’s extension proposal. Ushakov added that Russia “will act in a balanced and responsible manner based on thorough analysis of the security situation.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday night that, given current circumstances, the treaty’s parties are no longer bound by its obligations or by symmetrical declarations under the agreement and are free to choose their next steps.
New START, signed in 2010 by then-US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, capped each side at no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads on up to 700 deployed missiles and bombers. The treaty, originally set to expire in 2021, was extended for five years.
The accord included on-site inspections to verify compliance, but those inspections were halted in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and never resumed. In February 2023, Putin suspended Russia’s participation, citing concerns about US inspections of Russian nuclear sites while Washington and NATO were publicly discussing defeating Moscow in Ukraine. At that time, the Kremlin said it was not withdrawing from the treaty and would respect its limits.
In September, Putin offered to observe New START limits for a year to allow negotiations on a successor pact, warning that the treaty’s expiration would be destabilizing and could spur nuclear proliferation.
New START followed a long line of US-Russian arms-reduction agreements, many of which have since lapsed.
