Putin Suspends New START Treaty, Accuses West of Targeting Russia

At a glance

• Russia suspends participation in the 2010 New START treaty
• Putin warns against supplying longer-range weapons to Ukraine
• Accuses West of taking aim at Russian culture, religion and values
• Russia will respect the caps on nuclear weapons under the pact
• Will continue to exchange information about test launches of ballistic missiles

The details

Russia Suspends Participation in New START Treaty

In his state of the nation address, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will suspend its participation in the 2010 New START treaty, which caps the number of nuclear weapons and envisages broad inspections of nuclear sites.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described Moscow’s decision as “really unfortunate and very irresponsible.” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that President Joe Biden’s address would not be “some kind of head to head” with Putin’s.

Putin Warns Against Supplying Longer-Range Weapons to Ukraine

Putin began his speech with strong words for those countries that provided Ukraine with crucial military support and warned them against supplying any longer-range weapons.

He denied any wrongdoing in Ukraine, even after Kremlin forces struck civilian targets, including hospitals, and are widely accused of war crimes.

The deputy head of Ukraine’s intelligence service, Vadym Skibitskyi, said his agency hasn’t seen any signs that China is providing weapons to Moscow.

Putin Accuses West of Taking Aim at Russian Culture

Putin accused the West of taking aim at Russian culture, religion and values because it is aware that “it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield.” He also said that Western sanctions hadn’t “achieved anything and will not achieve anything.”

The Kremlin barred coverage of the address by media from “unfriendly” countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and those in the European Union.

Despite suspending its participation in the New START treaty, Putin said that Russia will respect the caps on nuclear weapons under the pact.

He also said that Russia will continue to exchange information about test launches of ballistic missiles per earlier agreements with the United States.