Russia’s nuclear threats have underpinned each stage of the war in Ukraine as Putin attempts to deter and divide NATO support. However, if Russia faces battlefield setbacks, its nuclear threats could intensify, testing NATO s resolve.
The Russian and Belarusian militaries signed agreements this week on the deployment of Russian tactical nukes at a special storage facility in Belarus. The deployment will mean a significant security boost for Minsk, and threaten to unravel NATO’s entire missile defense strategy, says international relations and security analyst Mark Sleboda.
In April 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). Six years later, an analysis of New START’s impact on U.S. national security is as timely as it is instructive. New START has not accomplished the Administration’s main goal of providing predictability and strategic stability between Russia and the United States.