MOSCOW, February 5. /TASS/. The expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty may spark a new arms race; Donald Trump sees the Abu Dhabi talks on Ukraine as important; and Pakistan has emerged as a mediator between the US and Iran. These stories topped Thursday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) officially expires on February 5. This was the last legal barrier preventing Moscow and Washington from expanding their nuclear arsenals. In the fall of 2025, Russia proposed extending the treaty’s limitations for another year, but the US ignored the initiative, Izvestia notes.
Both Russia and the United States are currently in the process of upgrading weapons generations, so experts don’t rule out that a lack of restrictions and control may accelerate the process. However, specialists see no threat of immediate escalation. "Reasons to be concerned may emerge in a few years, when American projects for the deployment of Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missiles, B-21 heavy bombers and Columbia submarines will be fully underway. Their deployment will no longer be limited by New START," military expert Dmitry Boltenkov explained.
Another concern the treaty’s expiration creates is that the parties will stop exchanging information on major drills involving strategic offensive weapons. Without notifications of missile launches, the risk of accidental escalation due to errors in early-warning systems increases significantly, military expert Viktor Litovkin emphasized. However, Boltenkov pointed out that missile launch notification procedures are partially regulated by a separate agreement that the US and the Soviet Union signed in 1988.
