Winter is coming: Former Russian president tries to scare world after US-Russia nuclear treaty expires

Khrystyna Bondarieva , Tetyana Oliynyk - 4 February, 22:28

Dmitry Medvedev. Photo: Contributor/Getty Images

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council and a former president, has posted a warning about nuclear war as the US-Russia treaty on the control of nuclear weapons (New START) expires on 5 February.

Source: Medvedev on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Medvedev could not resist boasting that Russia now faces no restraints in the nuclear sphere. "That's it. For the first time since 1972, Russia (the former USSR) and the US have no treaty limiting strategic nuclear forces. SALT 1, SALT 2, START I, START II, SORT, New START – all in the past," he wrote, listing past US-Russian agreements on nuclear deterrence.

Medvedev also attached a screenshot from the TV series Game of Thrones. The image shows the Night King, the leader of the army of the undead, with a hint that "Winter is coming". This is an obvious reference to a so-called "nuclear winter", which Moscow is using to intimidate the world.

Background:

On 4 February, Russia's Foreign Ministry stated that after the expiration of the New START treaty, Russia no longer considers itself bound by any limits on its nuclear arsenal.
The New START treaty was the last major agreement between the United States and Russia on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms. It was signed in Prague in 2010 by presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, entered into force in 2011, and was meant to serve as the foundation of global "nuclear stability".
Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia is ready for a new global reality without any restrictions on nuclear weapons.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!