Last US-Russia Nuclear Treaty Expires
The New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms limitation agreement between the U.S. and Russia, expired on February 5, 2026. A new podcast highlights the end of on-site inspections and verified warhead limits, creating a new era of geopolitical uncertainty and risk.
- The treaty limited each country to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and heavy bombers. - For the first time since 1972, there are no legally binding limits on the world's two largest strategic nuclear arsenals. - The treaty's verification system broke down before its expiration; on-site inspections were paused in 2020 due to the pandemic, and Russia formally suspended its participation in February 2023. - Signed in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the treaty was extended once in 2021 for a maximum of five years, setting its final expiration date. - In September 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed an informal one-year extension of the treaty's limits, but the offer was not formalized with the United States. - Without the treaty's constraints, both the U.S. and Russia can rapidly increase their number of deployed nuclear weapons by loading stored warheads onto existing missiles and bombers. - U.S. officials have stated a goal for future arms control is a trilateral agreement that includes China's rapidly growing nuclear arsenal, which is estimated to reach 1,000 warheads by 2030. - The end of data exchanges and inspections means both nations must now rely more heavily on satellite and other intelligence to monitor each other's nuclear activities, increasing the risk of miscalculation.
