President Putin announced that Russia is suspending its participation in the New START treaty, the last standing major agreement on nuclear arms limitations with the United States, in his state of the nation address on Tuesday, February 21st. In response, NATO and EU representatives voiced their concerns for the future nuclear equilibrium of the world and promised to ramp up military assistance.
“I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty,” Putin said, adding that he’s ready to test nuclear weapons again if Washington chooses to do so itself.
The New START treaty, which was signed by Russia and the United States in 2010, limited the number of nuclear warheads, launchers, and bombers at both countries’ disposal, and was aimed at continuing the non-proliferation tradition of the Cold War era. To this day, Russia and the U.S. control about 90% of the world’s total nuclear weapons combined, but as of today, there are no more major international restrictions on their production and deployment.
In his lengthy speech delivered in front of the Russian General Assembly, Putin vowed to continue the war in Ukraine, indefinitely if he had to, to secure his country’s strategic security interests.
In his speech, Putin repeatedly portrayed the war in Ukraine as a conflict between Russia and the West, which is ready to sacrifice Ukrainians for its own geopolitical interests. “The people of Ukraine are now hostages of their Western masters,” Putin said, after claiming that it is solely Western financing that is keeping the war going.
Addressing the recent pledges made by the UK to send long-range missiles to Ukraine, Putin warned that such moves force Russia to rethink its intentions in Ukraine, hinting at further regions to be annexed. “The more long-range weapons will be sent to Ukraine, the longer we will need to push the threat from our borders. That’s natural,” the president said.
According to Putin, the West not only started the conflict but is now bent on escalating it. “The West wants to turn a local conflict into a global confrontation,” he said, adding that Russia “will respond adequately.”
The Russian president also talked extensively about domestic economic issues, such as social programs, energy subsidies, and tax benefits to boost entrepreneurship, high-tech businesses, and R&D facilities, while promising to deliver significant support to the veterans of the war and the families of those killed in action. Several large-scale infrastructure developments were also announced throughout Russia and the annexed territories of Ukraine.
The Western sanctions failed to break the Russian economy, he announced, citing economic figures to underline that Russia has all the financial resources to continue the war and domestic developments at the same time, despite any and all sanctions imposed by the West.
NATO, EU To Ramp Up Military Support
In a joint press conference delivered by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Josep Borrell, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the Western allies expressed concerns about Russia leaving the nuclear arms reduction treaty and reassured Ukraine of their continued support.
“No sign of Putin preparing for peace,” the NATO chief said, “but the contrary, he’s preparing for more war.” NATO, therefore, must sustain and step up its military assistance to Ukraine, he said, vowing to speed up ammunition production and delivery to Kyiv as soon as possible.
Stoltenberg also voiced concerns about the suspension of the nuclear treaty and its possible long-term consequences. “I regret today’s decision by Russia to suspend participation in the New START treaty,” he said, adding that he believes the development “dismantles” the world’s security infrastructure on nuclear arms.
From the EU’s side, Borrell also reaffirmed commitment to Ukraine, promising to lend greater assistance in weapons procurement and personnel training. The EU has agreed to train 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers so far over the next year, but that’s still not enough, the high representative said.
Regarding START, Borrell expressed the same views as the NATO chief before him. According to him, the Russian decision is practically “demolishing the security system that was built up at the end of the Cold War,” he said, adding that we will need to devise a new one eventually, but only once Russia has been defeated on the battlefield, as that is the West’s primary objective now.
