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By Shane Croucher
Senior Editor
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow expects to announce soon a new weapon that it has been developing and testing for its vast nuclear arsenal, the world's largest, and warned that an arms race is underway.
It comes as the New START treaty between the U.S. and Russia, restricting nuclear weapons, is set to expire in February 2026, and tensions with the NATO alliance escalating sharply over the ongoing war in Ukraine.
There is a growing risk of a direct clash between Russia and NATO. Western allies accuse Russia of serious airspace violations, sabotage plots, cyberattacks, and more—which Moscow denies. Both sides characterize the conflict as a form of war.
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“The sophistication of our nuclear deterrence systems is higher than that of any other nuclear state," state news agency Tass reported Putin as saying, originally in Russian. "And we are developing all of this very actively."
The Russian president, who was speaking at a press conference in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, at the end of a summit of former Soviet states, added: "What I spoke about in earlier years is all progressing—we are bringing it to perfection."
The Kremlin has said it would uphold New START's obligations for a year from its expiration. President Donald Trump has responded positively, calling it a "good idea," but there is no new formal agreement in place ready to extend or replace the treaty.
According to the Federation of American Scientists, Russia has a total inventory of 5,459 nuclear warheads, of which 1,718 are deployed. The U.S. has 5,177 warheads, of which 1,770 are deployed.
Putin: Countries Preparing for Testing in Nuclear Arms Race
In his remarks, Putin also said that "a certain kind of arms race is indeed underway" in the world, and warned that "some countries are preparing for testing" of nuclear weapons. He did not specify which.
“But this is also well known to experts. There’s always the temptation to check the effectiveness of the combat fuel that has been stored in missiles for many, many years," Putin said, per Tass.
"Everything is simulated on computers, and specialists believe that’s sufficient—but some of them think it’s necessary to carry out real, full-scale tests. And in some countries, as far as we know, they are considering this and even making preparations."
Putin continued: “That’s why I said that if they conduct tests, we’ll do the same. Is that good or bad? From the standpoint of ensuring security—it’s good. From the overall perspective related to deterrence and actions aimed, if not at reducing, then at restraining the arms race—it’s probably not bad.
"In this same context, we’ve proposed extending the New START Treaty for at least a year. Let everyone think about it."
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