Sybiha urges not to fall for Russia’s nuclear blackmail, as Putin has no funds for new arms race

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said this on the social media platform X, according to Ukrinform.

“The end of the New START treaty is a direct consequence of Russia’s deliberate fragmentation of the global security architecture. Putin wishes all rules are selective or questioned to the extent that the new ones are stipulated with his consent only. And that is exactly what he should be denied,” the Ukrainian Foreign Minister stated.

He emphasized that Moscow violated New START and withdrew from it in 2023, and that Putin is now using the treaty as another tool of nuclear blackmail to undermine international support for Ukraine.

Sybiha urged not to give in to these manipulations, noting that Russia’s economy is entering recession because of Putin’s refusal to end his war against Ukraine.

“Putin has no cash for a new strategic arms race. Moscow can and should be deterred. The US and its European allies successfully deterred the USSR in the 1970s and 1980s, and they can certainly deter Russia, which doesn’t match the Soviet Union,” the minister said.

According to Sybiha, Ukraine, which has made the greatest contribution to nonproliferation and global denuclearization, has the right to urge transatlantic unity remain strong and principled despite Russia’s gambling and bluffing.

The end of the New START should also signal the end of Russia’s nuclear blackmail, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister stressed.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, the last key Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the United States and Russia expired on Thursday, February 5, raising concerns about a new arms race between the two countries.