Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department released the latest numbers on U.S. and Russian strategic forces as part of the data exchange required by the New Strategic Arms Reduction Talks Treaty (New START).
The New START Treaty, signed by the United States and Russia in April 2010, has utterly failed to accomplish anything in the way of arms control on the Russian side. Loopholes in New START actually allow Russia to build up its strategic forces, while the treaty forces the U.S. to reduce its arsenal and limits its missile defense options. The treaty’s toothless verification regime also makes it difficult for the United States to monitor Russian compliance.
Russia’s Growing Arsenal
The latest numbers tell a sobering story. Since New START entered into force in February 2011, Russia has actually increased its arsenal in all three categories that the treaty was supposed to limit: deployed warheads, deployed delivery vehicles, and deployed and non-deployed delivery vehicles. In four and a half years under New START, Russia has gone from 1,537 deployed warheads—below the New START limit of 1,550—to 1,648 warheads, well over the limit.
