Overview
- Russia’s envoy Mikhail Ulyanov warned the final quantitative caps on U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear forces will lapse when New START expires on February 5.
- Moscow has proposed maintaining the treaty’s ceilings for one year on a voluntary, reciprocal basis, but Russian officials say Washington has not accepted the offer.
- President Donald Trump recently told the New York Times he was unbothered by the impending expiration, stating, “If it expires, it expires.”
- New START’s central limits set 700 deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and bombers, 1,550 deployed warheads, and 800 total deployed and nondeployed launchers and bombers.
- A new CRS overview says the treaty cannot be extended under its terms, describes debate over a nonbinding political commitment, and highlights verification gaps and China-related force planning as key concerns.