Putin suspends nuclear pact as US champions Ukraine

Nandita Bose and Guy Faulconbridge | February 21, 2023

US President Joe Biden will meet leaders of NATO’s eastern flank in a show of support after Russia’s president suspended a nuclear arms control treaty and accused the United States of turning the Ukraine war into a global conflict.

In Poland on Tuesday, Biden proclaimed untiring support for Ukraine and for NATO, which Russia regards as an existential threat.

“When Russia invaded, it wasn’t just Ukraine being tested. The whole world faced a test for the ages,” Biden said in the Royal Castle of Warsaw, the day after he made a surprise visit to Kyiv.

Challenged to respond to Russia’s invasion on February 24 last year, Biden said the United States and its NATO allies replied: “Yes, we would stand up for sovereignty. And we did. Yes, we would stand up for the right of people to live free from aggression. And we did.”

“And we would stand up for democracy. And we did,” he said.

“There should be no doubt: Our support for Ukraine will not waver, NATO will not be divided, and we will not tire,” Biden said.

Also speaking on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a warning to the West over Ukraine by suspending its last major nuclear arms control treaty with the US.

Putin told Russia’s military and political elite in Moscow the US was turning the Ukraine “special military operation” into a global conflict and announced the suspension of Russia’s participation in the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty).

Russia’s foreign ministry later said it intended to continue abiding by the restrictions outlined in the treaty on the number of nuclear warheads it could have deployed.

“The elites of the West do not hide their purpose. But they also cannot fail to realise that it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield,” Putin said.

“They intend to transform a local conflict into a phase of global confrontation,” he said. “This is exactly how we understand it all and we will react accordingly, because in this case we are talking about the existence of our country.”

Biden rejected Russia’s assertion that Western allies were seeking to control or destroy Russia. He did, however, accuse Russia of crimes against humanity such as targeting civilians and rape.

Russia has denied accusations by Ukraine and its allies of war crimes and targeting civilians.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Putin’s suspension of the nuclear treaty was “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible”. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said it made the world a more dangerous place, and urged Putin to reconsider.

China’s United Nations Ambassador Zhang Jun told reporters the New START treaty and other instruments were important for the global security architecture, adding: “The parties concerned should continue to negotiate with each other in finding a good solution”.

Under the treaty that expires in 2026, the US and Russia may physically check the other’s nuclear arsenal, although tension over Ukraine had already halted inspections.

NATO allies and other supporters have sent Ukraine tens of billions of dollars worth of war weaponry and ammunition, with modern battle tanks promised and some mulling President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s appeals for fighter jets and longer-range missiles.

On Wednesday, Biden will meet leaders of the Bucharest Nine, NATO’s eastern members that joined the alliance after years of Cold War domination by the then Soviet Union. Most are among the strongest supporters of military aid to Ukraine and have called for more help for it, such as air defence systems.

Biden is expected to reaffirm security commitments and discuss support for Ukraine before he returns to Washington.

Russia suffered three major battlefield reverses in Ukraine last year but still controls about one fifth of the country and appears to be making progress in eastern provinces.