Expiration of New START Treaty: US-Russia Nuclear Arms Control Concerns

Expiration of New START Treaty

• 🗓️ The New START treaty, the sole remaining nuclear arms treaty between the U.S. and Russia, has expired.
• 🎯 This treaty, signed in 2010, limited both nations to 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles and 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads.
• 🔍 It also included verification measures like notifications, data exchanges, and on-site inspections, though inspections ceased during COVID-19 and never resumed.

Concerns Over a New Arms Race

• ⚠️ Arms control advocates fear the expiration will lead to a new arms race between the world's two largest atomic arsenals.
• 🗣️ In 2021, the U.S. and Russia agreed to a five-year extension, and Russian President Vladimir Putin had offered to extend it further.
• 🚫 However, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated the treaty is no longer fit for purpose, citing the need to include China in future arms control agreements due to its rapidly growing stockpile.

China's Growing Nuclear Arsenal

• 📈 The Department of Defense projects that China will possess over 1,000 warheads by 2030, including lower-yield tactical nuclear weapons.
• 🌍 For decades, U.S. nuclear deterrence relied on providing allies a nuclear umbrella, but some allies are reportedly losing faith in this commitment.

Shifting Alliances and Focus

• 🇳🇴 Lieutenant Colonel Johannes Kibsgaard of the Norwegian Armed Forces suggests that the U.S. can no longer be fully trusted to use nuclear weapons to protect Europe.
• 🌏 He urges European allies to step up their defenses, allowing the U.S. to concentrate its focus on Southeast Asia and China.