Russia and U.S. Face Critical Decision on Future of Strategic Nuclear TreatyRussian President Vladimir Putin has proposed extending the New START Treaty by one year beyond its scheduled expiration on February 5, 2026, in an effort to preserve “the central quantitative limits” of the agreement. He described the initiative as a responsible step to prevent the removal of the final barrier against nuclear escalation. Emerging Military TechnologiesThe United States is pursuing its “Golden Dome” program, designed to deploy space-based missile interceptors and other orbital weapons. The Treaty’s Core LimitsThe New START Treaty caps each side at 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 deployed delivery systems, including missiles, submarines, and bombers. Russia and the U.S. together possess around 90 percent of the world’s nuclear arsenal, making the preservation or replacement of this framework critical to global security.