Fears of new arms race as US-Russia nuclear weapons treaty due to expire

The United States and Russia face growing fears of a renewed nuclear arms race as the New Start treaty, which has limited deployed strategic nuclear warheads for both nations since 2010, is scheduled to expire without renewal talks progressing. The New Start (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) represents the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the two former Cold War adversaries. Signed in 2010 and entered into force in 2011, it capped the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550 for each country and established a robust verification regime to ensure compliance. The treaty has been extended once in 2021 for five years, but with that extension set to expire in February 2026, both nations have shown little progress toward negotiating a follow-on agreement. Experts warn that without a successor treaty, the world's two largest nuclear powers would operate without any constraints on their strategic arsenals for the first time since the Cold War, potentially triggering a destabilizing competition with both countries potentially increasing their nuclear arsenals and developing new weapon systems without oversight.