Full story
New START treaty lapse
The New START treaty, the last remaining U.S.–Russia nuclear arms-control agreement that entered into force in 2011, officially expired in early February 2026.
“The New START treaty, the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms-control agreement in force since 2011, expired on Feb. 4, 2026, leaving the two largest nuclear powers without treaty limits for the first time in decades.”
Its expiration removed legally binding limits and on‑site verification of the two countries’ strategic arsenals for the first time in decades.
News outlets reported the lapse left no formal caps on deployed warheads and launchers.
They noted the treaty previously capped each side at 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and set limits on deployed delivery systems.
Several accounts emphasized the historic scope of the change and the immediate legal effect: Washington and Moscow are no longer bound by New START’s limits.
New START treaty status
Under New START, the parties agreed numerical caps and a verification regime: each side was limited to roughly 1,550 deployed strategic warheads, 700 deployed ICBMs/SLBMs and heavy bombers, and a set number of total launchers, alongside routine data exchanges and reciprocal on-site inspections.
Coverage stresses that the treaty's verification measures were already weakened in recent years, as inspections were suspended during the COVID pandemic and Russia halted participation in 2023.
With the treaty's formal expiration, those inspection mechanisms and routine exchanges have ended.
International responses and Moscow stance
Global and institutional reactions were urgent and varied.
“UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the expiry “a grave moment for international peace and security,” urged Washington and Moscow to negotiate a successor without delay, and warned the risk of nuclear use is the highest in decades.”
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and other international figures warned the lapse was a grave turning point that raises the risk of nuclear use.
NATO urged responsibility and restraint.
Religious and civic leaders also expressed concern.
Moscow’s public statements struck a more measured tone, saying Russia would act in a balanced and responsible manner.
Moscow said the parties are no longer bound by New START.
It said it reserved the right to take countermeasures if its security is threatened.
Arms-control divisions
Political fault-lines between capitals are apparent in coverage: Washington has signaled that any future arms-control framework should include China — a demand Beijing rejects — while Russia has argued NATO nuclear forces, notably Britain and France, should also be part of broader talks.
U.S. domestic politics and recent administrations complicate the picture, with outlets reporting that President Vladimir Putin proposed a one-year extension that the U.S. did not accept and that former President Trump gave mixed signals, sometimes saying an extension would be "good" while at other times being ambivalent.
These divergent demands and political calculations are repeatedly cited as obstacles to a quick successor agreement.
New START lapse risks
Experts and analysts warn the New START lapse reduces transparency, increases the risk of miscalculation or rapid uploads of warheads to deployed systems, and could catalyze a renewed arms race, though they say such rapid buildups would be technically and financially challenging.
“Experts warn the lapse could prompt rapid nuclear buildups and greater global risk because: the U.S. and Russia can quickly add warheads to existing systems while China is also expanding its arsenal; the end of inspections and data-sharing will reduce transparency and raise suspicions; increased secrecy and activity heighten the chance of miscalculation, accidents or escalation.”
Coverage varies on the scale and immediacy of the threat: some emphasize immediate danger and symbolic erosion of decades of arms control, while others stress long timelines and technical limits on quick expansions.
Observers call for urgent diplomacy to restore verifiable limits.