Overview

• Putin unveiled the offer during a televised Russian Security Council meeting to carry New START limits one year beyond 5 February 2026.
• The proposal requires the United States to take equivalent steps and to avoid measures that would change the current deterrence balance.
• Washington had not publicly responded to the proposal at the time of publication.
• Verification and on-site inspections under New START remain halted after Moscow suspended participation about two years ago.
• The treaty caps each side at 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and 800 launchers, as Russia lifts its INF moratorium, starts serial production of the Orechnik hypersonic missile, and signals possible deployment to Belarus.