Russia suspends participation in US-Russia nuclear arms treaty News
SpaceX-Imagery / Pixabay
Russia suspends participation in US-Russia nuclear arms treaty

Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday announced Russia will suspend its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). The treaty represents the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between the US and Russia.

Putin claimed the US wanted to “inflict a strategic defeat” on Russia and “climb on [Russia’s] nuclear facilities.” A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry further explained this, alleging that Western countries–such as nuclear-equipped UK and France–are expanding their nuclear infrastructure eastward. Russia said that this, coupled with the US’s continued use of Ukraine as a proxy to probe the security of Russian New START facilities, are the reasons for the decision.

The decision comes weeks after the US accused Russia of violating New START by refusing to allow inspections on Russian START facilities. In response to President Putin’s announcement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his disappointment, calling it “both really unfortunate and very irresponsible.”

New START, signed by the US and the Russian Federation in 2010, limits the number of strategic nuclear armaments both countries can deploy and provides for bilateral annual inspections to ensure compliance. The treaty is set to expire in 2026, but both sides have the option to extend it for five years.

THIS DAY @ LAW

No lynchings reported in US for first time

On December 30, 1952, the Tuskegee Institute reported that 1952 was the first year of no lynchings of African Americans in the United States in the 71 years it had kept records. Learn more about lynching and listen to Billie Holiday's jazz recording of the 1938 protest song Strange Fruit.

USSR established

On December 30, 1922, representatives of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Transcaucus approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, creating the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). During World War II, the USSR would also annex Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Moldova. Learn more about the history of the USSR from the BBC.