Russia and US nuclear treaty ends, will the arms race intensify?

February 8, 2026

Abhishek Vij

On Thursday, the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States expired. The treaty, signed in 2010 by then-US President Barack Obama and Russian representative Dmitry Medvedev, committed both countries to limiting their destructive nuclear capabilities. It restricted both sides from possessing more than 700 missiles and bombers and more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads. The treaty was originally set to expire in 2021 but was extended for another five years. Despite this extension, the treaty expired on February 5th. This marks the first time in the last half-century that all limits on the two largest nuclear arsenals have been removed.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed grave concern over this development. He urged both Russia and the United States to renew the agreement. Russia expressed regret over the treaty’s expiration and stated that it would act responsibly after the lifting of restrictions on the deployment of the world’s deadliest weapons. However, the Kremlin spokesperson clearly stated that the next steps would largely depend on future developments.

While Russia pledged to uphold its responsibility towards global values, the Russian Foreign Ministry also stated that they are no longer bound by any obligations and are free to take the next step.

This is a matter of grave concern because the US and Russia possess 87 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons. Now that both countries are free from the nuclear treaty and are also in opposing camps, an arms race to build and accumulate weapons is likely to begin. This would place the world on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe that could erupt at any moment. On the other hand, the US has reacted with an attitude of indifference. It was also indicated that discussions on renewing the nuclear treaty would be considered after a meeting between senior Russian and American military officials in Abu Dhabi regarding Ukraine. This means the world is teetering on the brink of disaster, yet these proponents of nuclear weapons want to come to the negotiating table only after asserting their own egos.

The Kremlin stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had discussed the potential collapse of this agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping the previous day, Wednesday. There is no doubt that the breakdown of the Russia-US nuclear treaty at this time is a tragic development. If an arms race begins between these two powerful nations, new markets for weapons sales will be sought.

If wars remain unresolved and some power-hungry leader, driven by ego, uses these weapons, the world will face devastation even before the possibility of a third world war. This treaty was called the New START treaty. Clearly, it needs to be restarted, and therefore, understanding the gravity of the situation, this nuclear treaty should be renewed. Russian President Putin says that if the US also agrees, they are ready to abide by the treaty’s limits for another year. It would be best if both powerful nations renewed the treaty, committing to not using nuclear weapons for all the years to come.