They’re trying to out-Reagan us. It’s as clear as day. Putin is a cold warrior. The U.S. is bankrupting itself and we can ill-afford an arms race. Russia’s debt, by contrast, is the lowest of the G20 nations. Having obtained an agreement with us to downsize our aresenal, while securing what they believe to be the renunciation of the missle defense shield that Gorbachev had wanted but Reagan wouldn’t concede, they are now launching an arms modernization program to establish global offensive military supremacy.
Russian is financing their arms build up from sales of their huge natural gas and oil reserves. We could do the same, except... we are not ‘allowed’ to by our environmental masters.