Expert Panel Says Russia Holding Nuke Deal ‘Hostage’ to Deter US Support for Ukraine

Even through the most fractious days of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union, and its successor Russian Federation, maintained compliance with nuclear arms accords and sustained contact in negotiating new treaties.
But Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine changed all that with Moscow now refusing to decouple strategic arms control treaty compliance from U.S. support for the embattled nation.
“We are essentially in a situation of hostage taking,” Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation senior research associate Hanna Notte said. Russia has “ceased to compartmentalize” nuclear arms agreements “as ransom” to force the United States from backing away from supporting Ukraine….}