Putin a 'nuclear bully' for suspending START: analyst

STORY: Alleging that the U.S. was turning the war into a global conflict, Putin, on Tuesday (February 21) said Russia was suspending participation in the New START treaty, its last major arms control treaty with Washington.

Signed by then-U.S. president Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in 2010, the treaty caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the countries can deploy.

Due to expire in 2026, it allows each country to physically check the other's nuclear arsenal, although tensions over Ukraine had already brought inspections to a halt.

Williams is Director of the Project on Nuclear Issues and a Senior Fellow in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.