Overview

• President Vladimir Putin said Russia would voluntarily observe New START’s numerical caps for one year after the treaty’s Feb. 5, 2026 expiration.
• The offer is contingent on the United States doing the same and avoiding moves Moscow says would upset deterrence, including expanded missile defenses or space-based interceptors.
• Putin directed agencies to closely track U.S. strategic activities and warned that destabilizing deployments would prompt a Russian response.
• New START limits each side to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, but on-site inspections have been dormant since 2020.
• Russia suspended formal participation in 2023 yet says it has observed the caps; arms-control advocates called the latest pledge a positive interim step, and Washington had not issued a public response.