What is a nuclear arms control treaty and what is its essence

Russian Federation on August 8 officiallyannounced that it was temporarily suspending inspection activities under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START for short. That is, Russia has temporarily withdrawn from the so-called nuclear arms control treaty, as a result of which it will no longer control the US nuclear potential, and at the same time will no longer allow US inspectors into its strategic nuclear facilities. This was reported on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But what does START inspection activity mean in general, how important is it for ensuring security in the world, and why did the Russian government make such a decision? We propose further to understand this in detail.

Russia will no longer control US nuclear weapons

Content

• 1 START Treaty - what is it (briefly)
• 2 Why START 3 is needed
• 3 What is START 3 Nuclear Weapons Control?
• 4 Why Russia withdrew from inspection activity
• 5 Why Russia's exit from inspection activities is dangerous

START Treaty - what is it (briefly)

Nuclear war between Russia and the US is theoreticalcan be detrimental to all mankind. This is well understood not only by scientists, but also by politicians in both countries. Therefore, since the days of the Cold War, the USSR and the United States have concluded various agreements aimed at reducing escalation and ensuring security in the world. These include the treaty on intermediate and shorter range missiles, the treaty on the peaceful use of outer space, and so on.

The START-3 Treaty was signed in 2010 by Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev

Similar treaties between the United States and Russia continuedconclude even today. One of them was START-III, signed by the presidents of both countries on April 8, 2010. It entered into force in early 2011 and was extended until 2026 in 2021. According to this document, each of the parties undertakes to reduce nuclear weapons in accordance with the agreements reached.

I must say that under the terms of the agreement, Russia andThe United States independently determines the composition of strategic weapons, that is, how much to use missiles, strategic bombers, submarines, etc. However, their total number must comply with the requirements of START III. The document also contains such concepts as "deployed" START and "non-deployed" launchers and carriers. Weapons that are not in combat readiness are considered non-deployed. It can be used for testing or, for example, military training.

As a rule, the START treaty is signedby the presidents of Russia and the United States for a certain time, after which a new document is drawn up, which indicates new conditions for the reduction of weapons. The current treaty, i.e. START III, expires, as we have already said, in 2026.

Humanity will not be completely destroyed in the event of a nuclear war

Why START 3 is needed

Since the Cold War, thanks to suchtreaties, the number of nuclear weapons in the world has been greatly reduced - from 70,000 to 13,080 units (in 2021). It should be noted that 90% of all existing nuclear weapons on Earth belong to Russia and the United States.

If in times of cold confrontation betweenA nuclear war broke out between the USA and the USSR, life on Earth could be completely destroyed or, at least, was under serious threat. At present, thanks to the fact that the number of warheads has been reduced, the consequences of a nuclear war, although they will be catastrophic, are unlikely to destroy all of humanity, as we talked about earlier.

In other words, the START 3 treaty between Russia andThe United States, in fact, increases the security of the entire planet. However, countries are interested in it not only in connection with concern for the security of mankind. There is also a more mercantile reason.

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It should be understood that the creation and maintenanceNew START requires large financial outlays. Therefore, by destroying part of their nuclear weapons, in fact, countries significantly reduce their spending items. Thus, the START treaty is also economically beneficial for the US and Russia.

What is START 3 Nuclear Weapons Control?

In such a sensitive matter as mutualreduction of nuclear weapons, there must be tight control. Theoretically, one country can deceive another in order to gain strategic superiority in terms of weapons. In this case, only the countries that signed the START-3 treaty can provide control.

Therefore, from the moment the document was signed,work inspection commissions, whose task was to control each other's nuclear weapons. That is, the Russian commission periodically visited US military facilities where American nuclear weapons are located and checked how many nuclear weapons are deployed. Accordingly, the American commission acted in exactly the same way - periodically visited Russian strategic facilities, and also monitored the implementation of the START 3 treaty by the Russian Federation.

Russia and the United States know the location and number of each other's ground nuclear facilities

Accordingly, the exit from the inspectionactivities means that Russia and the US will no longer control each other's nuclear forces. But, we note that the inspections did not stop on August 8, 2022. In fact, control of nuclear weapons ceased to be carried out by Russia and the United States with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, withdrawal from inspection activities should not be confused with withdrawal from START-3.

Why Russia withdrew from inspection activities

The Russian Foreign Ministry points out two reasons why the Russian Federationcompelled to abandon inspection activity. First of all, this is due to the fact that the Russian inspection commission does not have the physical ability to visit US nuclear facilities. The fact is that air traffic between the countries is currently interrupted. In addition, the airspace was closed for aircraft of the Russian Federation and countries that are allies of the United States.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also draws attention to the negativeepidemiological situation in the United States. More than 120 thousand new cases of COVID-19 are detected daily in the country, while the number of deaths is about 300-400 cases per day.

From now on, Russia will hide its nuclear potential

What is the danger of Russia's withdrawal from inspection activities

The START-3 Treaty, as you understand, makes it impossiblean uncontrolled arms race between Russia and the United States. At the same time, inspections of nuclear facilities themselves ensured transparency in relations between countries. This means that they served as a tool to reduce tensions.

Given the current tensions in relations,the temporary cessation of inspections is bad news, as it reduces the level of stability in the world. Of course, this does not mean that a nuclear war in 2022 is inevitable or that a new arms race will definitely begin. However, the world has become even a little more dangerous than it was before. Finally, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the possible scenarios of a nuclear war according to experts.