Overview

• Russia says it will voluntarily observe New START’s numerical limits for one year beyond the treaty’s Feb. 5, 2026 expiration, contingent on the United States taking the same approach.
• The treaty caps each side at 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, figures Moscow proposes to keep observing temporarily.
• Putin directed agencies to track U.S. strategic programs, highlighting missile-defense plans and possible space-based interceptors, and warned Russia would respond to destabilizing moves.
• Washington offered no immediate public response, and substantive talks on renewing or replacing the pact have not begun as tensions tied to the war in Ukraine persist.
• On-site inspections remain suspended since 2020, and though Russia paused formal participation in 2023, it has said it would continue to respect the treaty’s limits, a move welcomed by arms-control advocates as a time-buying step.