Nuclear Arms pact: The threat of nuclear war has increased manifold, due to Putin's attitude, Western countries are deeply concerned.

On the first anniversary of the Ukraine war, fears of a resumption of the nuclear arms race between Russia and the US have deepened. The latest episode in this regard was added on February 21, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of his country's participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). Due to this treaty, Russia and America were not making new nuclear weapons for many decades. After Putin's announcement, no arms control treaty is in force between the two countries. Former US President Donald Trump had unilaterally taken out his country from two such treaties.

"Our relations have deteriorated and America is entirely to blame," Putin said in his State of the Union address three days before the first anniversary of the Ukraine war and threatened that if the US did not test new nuclear weapons, Russia will do the same. The US has said several times in the recent past that it may modernize its nuclear weapons to maintain its credibility.

Putin's announcement was immediately strongly condemned by the US State Department. On the other hand, Jens Stoltenberg, head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said that the world has become a 'more dangerous place' after Putin's announcement. Under this treaty, there has been a provision that both countries will regularly inspect each other's nuclear weapons stockpile.

Neela Srinivasan Rathbaum, professor at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Science, wrote in an analysis – 'During the year-long Ukraine war, Putin has repeatedly raised concerns that if the war shocks Russia Or if Western countries join in, Russia can launch a nuclear attack on Ukraine or any other Western country.' It is feared that millions of people may die if a single nuclear bomb is dropped on a major city today.

According to analysts, the arms control agreements between the US and Russia were successful because they included a provision for inspection of each other's stockpiles. There was a provision in these that a country can investigate another stock within 24 hours by giving notice. The New Start Treaty that Russia has suspended came into force in 2011. Since then Russia and the US have inspected each other's stockpiles 306 times.

An analysis published on the website The Conversation said that due to the latest Russian decision, there will be no transparency about the nuclear weapons stockpiles of both countries. This will greatly increase the risk. By the way, it is alleged that Russia stopped the implementation of New Start some time back. The US State Department told the US Congress last January that Russia was not implementing the treaty. Then Russia denied this allegation. But now Putin has made a formal announcement to suspend the treaty. This has increased the concern of western capitals.

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