New START and Next Steps for Reducing Nuclear Weapons Risks

Last Updated: February 12, 2021

During the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union had over 70,000 nuclear warheads in their total stockpiles combined, each ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice. Since the end of the Cold War, that number has been reduced to about 8,000 nuclear warheads (U.S. and Russia combined) in the total stockpile with just under 1,550 deployed warheads on each side. This achievement is due to various arms control agreements between Washington and Moscow, including the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which entered into force on February 5, 2011.

In 2019, President Trump, followed by President Putin, withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). This made New START the only remaining nuclear arms control pact between the U.S. and Russia, which, combined, own 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons.