Warning issued as world's last nuclear safeguard expires TOMORROW

"The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), signed in 2010, is due to end on February 5. It marks the eighth agreement between the two nations since the 1963 treaty that banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space and underwater. This third iteration of the pact limits each side to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads, and has long served as a key mechanism for monitoring compliance and maintaining a delicate balance of power between the world's two largest nuclear arsenals."

"'There'll be a turn of events a month from now, a year from now, five years from now,' Walsh said. 'Things always happen in international affairs. There'll be a war, there'll be a crisis.' In those moments, he continued, nuclear expansion becomes a newly viable option. Walsh explained that one nation's decision to build more weapons could quickly prompt others to follow suit, creating a ripple effect that drives an arms race."

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), signed in 2010, limits each side to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and expires on February 5. It served as a key verification mechanism and maintained a balance between the two largest nuclear arsenals. The treaty cannot be extended further and permitted only a single extension, which was used in 2021 by Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden amid rising tensions. Experts warn that expiration will not instantly end nuclear restraint but can trigger chain reactions, making nuclear expansion a viable option, prompting reciprocal buildups and rapid escalation that could erode decades of stability.

Read at Mail Online