On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military to invade Ukraine, a significant escalation in the Russo-Ukrainian War that has simmered since 2014. Since February, the Russian military has struggled to achieve Putin’s initial objective of capturing Ukraine’s capitol, Kiev, and overturning its government. As the invasion drags on, Putin has increasingly resorted to nuclear saber-rattling, in an apparent show of force against the NATO-aligned forces staunchly supporting Ukraine.
In a political climate that feels more divided than ever, it seems nearly impossible to agree on anything—except, as it turns out, arms control. A YouGov poll commissioned by NTI and ReThink Media found that 91 percent of Americans support capping U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, including 89 percent of Trump voters.
Past Project Developing practical proposals for future U.S. and Russian nuclear cooperation
Past Project As cyber capabilities evolve and nuclear weapons systems become increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks, the risk increases that nuclear weapons will be used by accident or miscalculation.
Testing ideas and developing proposals for improving security in areas of existential common interest
Building a framework for assurance, accountability, and action
An assessment and benchmarking of health security and related capabilities across 195 countries.
New START, the last remaining arms control treaty capping U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, expires on February 5. This marks the beginning of a dangerous new era. For the first time in several decades, there will be no limits on nuclear weapons, less visibility into Russian nuclear weapons activities, and fewer tools to manage a crisis between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
Unless the United States and Russia agree to maintain limits on their forces, the world will enter a period of potentially unconstrained nuclear build-ups.
NTI encourages the United States and the Russian Federation to continue to abide by New START’s limits on intercontinental-range nuclear weapons past its scheduled expiration on February 5, 2026.
View information and analysis of nuclear weapons disarmament proposals and progress worldwide, including detailed coverage of disarmament progress.
The world urgently needs both sides to take concrete steps to prevent a war of words from spiraling into actual conflict between two nuclear-armed countries.
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