Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that “Russia is suspending” its participation in the New START nuclear treaty with America.
In a statement Tuesday, Putin confirmed that Russia is withdrawing from the treaty with the United States which reduces and limits each country’s nuclear arsenal.
Putin made the announcement during his annual address to the nation, just one day after Democrat President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine.
“In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty,” Putin said.
In his long-delayed state-of-the-nation address, Putin cast Russia and Ukraine as victims of Western double-dealing.
He said Russia, not Ukraine, was the one fighting for its very existence.
The speech reiterated a litany of grievances that the Russian leader has frequently offered as justification for the widely condemned war and ignored international demands to pull back from occupied areas in Ukraine.
First signed in April 2010, the New START treaty limits the U.S. and Russia from having more than 1,550 nuclear warheads deployed on delivery systems like intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, or heavy bombers.
Both the U.S. and Russia are capable of deploying far more than the allotted nuclear warheads as Washington and Moscow have a combined total of more than 13,000 warheads.
According to data provided by the Arms Control Association, Russian and American warheads make up roughly 90% of the world’s nuclear arsenal.
Following the nuclear arms race that largely came to an end with the fall of the Soviet Union, the United Nations has pushed for nuclear disarmament and global warheads inventories have dropped since hitting their peak in 1985 when more than 70,000 warheads were estimated to make up global stockpiles.
Putin’s speech comes three days before the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has continued its attack on Ukraine over the last year despite Western sanctions and losses on the battlefield.
Ukraine’s defense has been supported by a number of other countries, most of which are in the West.
Ukrainian officials have said they expect Russia to ramp up its offensive in Moscow’s acknowledgment of the one-year anniversary of the war on February 24.
On Monday, Biden met with President Volodymyr Zelensky at Mariinsky Palace during a surprise visit to Ukraine
During the trip, Biden announces another additional half-billion dollars in U.S. assistance, courtesy of the American taxpayer.
The U.S. has already supported Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded financial aid and military equipment.
The new assistance includes shells for howitzers, anti-tank missiles, air surveillance radars, and other aid but does not offer new advanced weaponry.
Biden said he visited Ukraine to meet with Zelensky and “reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”
He said Putin was “dead wrong” in believing Ukraine was weak when he launched the invasion a year ago.
“I am meeting with President Zelenskyy and his team for an extended discussion on our support for Ukraine,” Biden said in a statement Monday.
“I will announce another delivery of critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments.
“And I will share that later this week, we will announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine.”
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