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After the successful test, Russia said the RS-28 Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile would be deployed on combat duty by the end of 2026.

For decades, a global ban on nuclear test explosions has been a central goal, and is now a central element, of the nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament regime because an effective, comprehensive, verifiable test ban directly constrains the ability of all parties to develop new or more-advanced nuclear weapons. But the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the de facto global nuclear test moratorium the it helped establish are now facing unprecedented new challenges.

Russia Concocts Fresh Ukrainian Bomb Claims

The Trump administration has signaled its focus on a multilateral approach to arms control following the expiration of New START, with the involvement of China a key priority. Join panelists Mallory Stewart, Tong Zhao, and Thomas Countryman to discuss practical next steps.

A growing narrative among U.S. strategists frames China and Russia as a monolithic threat, but the potential for cooperation between them is overstated.

For the moment, however, the two nuclear superpowers are left with no legally binding curbs on deploying their strategic nuclear weapons.

Fifteen years after it was signed by Russia and the United States, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty is less than one month from expiring. Will the two countries start building up their arsenals again?

Trump on New START: ‘If It Expires, It Expires’

China defends build-up in nuclear policy white paper, White House considers testing options, Russia impatient on New START proposal, Australia debates nuclear weapons on U.S. submarines, and more.

With two months left before the treaty expires, a quick-fix does not require negotiations, just a commitment by Russia and the United States to continue abiding by the New START limits.

Members of the UN General Assembly’s First Committee voted overwhelmingly to approve two resolutions calling for greater international scrutiny of the risks posed by the military use of AI, with Russia and the United States in notable opposition. 

Friction over Russia’s war against Ukraine and recent alleged incursions by both sides into each other's territory color how the exercises are viewed. 

Russia Tests Nuclear-Powered Cruise Missile, Torpedo

Calls to upload reserve strategic warheads to existing U.S. delivery systems and for large future expansions of U.S. strategic forces are major impediments to the negotiation of a follow-on to the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. There are alternatives to a strategic forces build-up to achieve the foreign policy goals of the United States.