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Putin suspends Russia's New START participation
Summary
A look back at the decision on 21 February 2023 to suspend Russian participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States.
What did it mean when Russia stepped back from the last nuclear arms control treaty it had with the United States? On 21 February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended Russia's participation in the New START treaty.
The treaty was the last remaining nuclear arms control pact between Moscow and Washington. Putin cited the goal of the United States to defeat Russia in the ongoing war in Ukraine as the reason for the suspension.
The announcement tied the future of strategic arms limits directly to the war in Ukraine, which was then continuing.
A parallel military signal
A few days earlier, on 17 February 2023, the South African Navy had begun hosting a ten-day joint military exercise in the Indian Ocean with Russia and China. The exercise was named "Mosi II", after the Tswana word for "smoke".
