Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin is once again escalating his nuclear threats. Fortunately, his announcement that he would “suspend” compliance with an arms control treaty is not an immediate danger. His goal is to stoke nuclear fears in order to weaken Western support for Ukraine.
Putin said Tuesday that he would suspend his participation in the New START treaty. This agreement, in force since February 2011, enhances security by placing limits on the number of long-range nuclear weapons held by Russia and the United States. Neither can deploy more than 1,550 weapons on long-range missiles and bombers.
Putin says he will no longer participate in the inspections, data exchanges, meetings, and other mechanisms that help each side ensure that the other is following the rules. Both nation’s deployments are under the limits and there is no sign that Putin will suddenly produce new weapons. Nor would it matter much if he did. He already has enough to destroy human civilization many times over.