New START Treaty’s Expiration Could Heighten Global Risks of Nuclear Armageddon

The international situation will become more perilous if the New START ceases to exist. New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) will expire on February 5. The treaty limits the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles, other types of missiles, and nuclear warheads for both Russia and the US. In 1991, at the end of the Cold War, Washington and Moscow negotiated the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) to reduce and limit the number of nuclear weapons both states held. It entered force in 1994 and has been renewed in various forms ever since. Its pending expiration on 5 February 2026….