With the clock running down on the world’s last major US–Russia nuclear arms control accord, Moscow on Wednesday (December 10, 2025) said it is still waiting for a formal response from Washington on President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to extend key limits on strategic weapons.
The New START treaty, set to expire on February 5, 2026, is the final surviving pillar of Cold War–era nuclear restraint.
What is the New START treaty?
Signed in 2010, New START caps both nations at 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and restricts the number of long-range missiles and heavy bombers that can deliver them.
Its verification regime has been central to ensuring transparency and preventing misunderstandings between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
What was Putin’s offer to Trump on the treaty?
Putin first offered in September 2025 to voluntarily uphold the treaty’s limits for an additional year, even without a formal extension.
US President Donald Trump initially called the idea “a good one” in October, but formal negotiations have stalled.
What did Russia say about the treaty?
“We have less than 100 days before the expiry of New START. We are waiting for a response,” said Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, during a visit to Hanoi.
He warned that Moscow’s proposal represents a final chance to halt what he described as a “destructive movement” in global arms control.
What’s the current world nuclear arsenal count?
The stakes are enormous. The United States and Russia together possess more than 10,000 nuclear warheads, roughly 87% of the world’s arsenal.
China, by comparison, holds about 600 warheads but is rapidly modernising its forces, raising concerns in both Washington and Moscow.
What do experts say about the treaty?
Arms control experts say preserving New START, even temporarily, would stabilize a fraying strategic landscape.
Rose Gottemoeller, the treaty’s former US negotiator, wrote this month that maintaining the accord would give Washington crucial time to assess China’s nuclear build-up without simultaneously facing uncertainty over Russia’s deployments.
As geopolitical tensions sharpen from NATO expansion to the war in Ukraine, the collapse of New START could usher in a dangerous new era of unconstrained nuclear rivalry.