Russia says it regrets end of last nuclear arms treaty, Trump wants a new pact

The Washington Times ^ | Feb 5, 2026 | VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

[McGruff]

The Kremlin said Thursday it regretted the expiration of the last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States, while President Trump declared he was against keeping its limits and wants a better deal.

The New START treaty’s termination left no caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century, fueling fears of an unconstrained nuclear arms race.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last year declared his readiness to stick to the treaty’s limits for another year if Washington followed suit, but Mr. Trump has ignored the offer and argued that he wants China to be a part of a new pact — which Beijing has rebuffed.

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TOPICS: China; Foreign Affairs; Government; Russia
KEYWORDS: nukes; pact; russia; treaty

[TBP]

Wait —

Russia is upset that the old agreement ended, and

Trump works for Putin?

Do these idiots even listen to themselves?

[packagingguy]

There’s really no point having huge numbers of nuclear weapons.

Back during the Soviet days they realized overproduction was pointless and they had an expression for it : make the rubble bounce.

[McGruff]

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

The United States is the most powerful Country in the World. I completely rebuilt its Military in my First Term, including new and many refurbished nuclear weapons. I also added Space Force and now, continue to rebuild our Military at levels never seen before. We are even adding Battleships, which are 100 times more powerful than the ones that roamed the Seas during World War II — The Iowa, Missouri, Alabama, and others. I have stopped Nuclear Wars from breaking out across the World between Pakistan and India, Iran and Israel, and Russia and Ukraine. Rather than extend “NEW START” (A badly negotiated deal by the United States that, aside from everything else, is being grossly violated), we should have our Nuclear Experts work on a new, improved, and modernized Treaty that can last long into the future. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

Feb 05, 2026, 1:47 PM

[fidelis]

There’s really no point having huge numbers of nuclear weapons.

True that. A guy can only be vaporized once.

[Secret Agent Man]

I’m sure Mr Putin was really regretful about it.

[Secret Agent Man]

There are a lot more potential targets today than in the past.

[delta7]

Do keep in mind it was Trump who pulled out of the treaty his first term. Viewed from Russia ( and the world viewpoint) , it was bad ju ju.

AI:

“Yes, during his first term, President Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty on February 1, 2019, citing Russia’s violations of the agreement. The official withdrawal took effect on August 2, 2019”

Americans have short, very short memories.

[Peter ODonnell]

“When there is no treaty,” said Putin, “there is no treaty I can break. It is not right. There must be a treaty for me to break, it is part of my identity.”

[clearcarbon]

"New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), signed in 2010 by then-President Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, restricted each side to no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads on no more than 700 missiles and bombers — deployed and ready for use. It was originally supposed to expire in 2021 but was extended for five more years. The pact envisioned sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance, although they stopped in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and never resumed."

[nuke_road_warrior]

Aside from the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact prior to WWII I can’t think of a treaty Russia hasn’t either broken outright or cheated on around the edges. And the only reason Stalin kept the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was that Hitler broke it before Stalin was ready to break it himself.

[tlozo]

I can’t think of a treaty Russia hasn’t either broken outright or cheated on around the edges.

Yup, Putin violated and then suspended the New Start Treaty, by not allowing the agreed inspections by the US, because the Russians had exceeded the New START limit on deployed nuclear warheads.

Since 2010, Russia has violated, suspended, or withdrawn from numerous important arms control agreements. A 2014 Department of State compliance report raised concerns about Russia’s compliance with the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. In 2022, Russia suspended inspection activities under New START, and in 2023, it suspended participation in New START and withdrew ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

https://www.csis.org/analysis/three-truths-about-end-new-start-and-what-it-means-strategic-competition

[tlozo]

Do keep in mind it was Trump who pulled out of the treaty his first term. Viewed from Russia

Different treaty, Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, that yes, Russia also was violating.

Russia violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty by developing and deploying the 9M729 (SSC-8) ground-launched cruise missile, which has a range prohibited by the 1987 pact. These actions led the U.S. and NATO allies to declare Russia in material breach, causing the treaty's collapse on August 2, 2019.

The Missile: The 9M729 missile (NATO designation SSC-8) is a land-based cruise missile with a range estimated between 500 and 5,500 km, prohibited by the treaty.

Timeline of Violations: The U.S. first identified the violation in 2014, with persistent non-compliance reported through 2019.