The treaty, which took effect in 2011, is set to expire in February 2026. Now Putin says Russia 'is suspending its participation' in New START, the last remaining nuclear weapons treaty between the U.S. But the following month, Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Russia used nuclear threats in an attempt to intimidate other nations from intervening. It was affirmed as recently as January 2022, by Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Biden and the leaders of China, France and the U.K., all of which have nuclear weapons and permanent seats on the U.N.

That phrase has lived on, evoked by leaders of both countries. President Ronald Reagan made a breakthrough when they jointly declared, 'a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.' In 1985, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. Putin announced Russia is suspending participation in the New START nuclear weapons treaty.

A woman in Simferopol, Crimea, watches a TV broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual state of the nation address on Tuesday.

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