President Putin vows to boost Russia's nuclear forces
President Vladimir Putin says Russia will continue to pay increased attention to boosting its nuclear forces, after he declared his decision to suspend the country's participation in an arms control treaty with the United States.
In an address to mark a national holiday on Wednesday, Putin reassured that his country would keep on equipping its armed forces with advanced equipment.
"As before, we will pay increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad," the president said.
Putin said that for the first time, Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles - a weapon able to carry multiple nuclear warheads - would be deployed this year.
"We will continue mass production of air-based hypersonic Kinzhal systems and will start mass supplies of sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles," he added.
The president announced on Tuesday that he was suspending Russia's participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States.
The decision prompted concerns in Washington, with President Joe Biden describing the move as a “big mistake.” His Secretary of State Antony Blinken also called the decision “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible.”
Blinken said Biden’s administration remains ready to talk about the nuclear arms treaty “at any time with Russia, irrespective of anything else going on in the world.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry, however, said that the decision to suspend participation in the treaty is “reversible.”
"Washington must show political will, make conscientious efforts for a general de-escalation and create conditions for the resumption of the full functioning of the Treaty and, accordingly, comprehensively ensuring its viability," it said.
“The American side to do just that. Until then, any of our steps towards Washington in the context of START are absolutely out of the question.”
The treaty, signed in 2010, puts limits on the number of deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons that the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals can have. It was last extended in early 2021 for five years.
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