MOSCOW, February 5. /TASS/. After the expiration of the New START Treaty, Russia must decide whether to deploy the Barguzin rail-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system. This system is indistinguishable from a regular train and will provide a guaranteed retaliatory nuclear strike, military analyst and Editor-in-Chief of the National Defense magazine Igor Korotchenko told TASS.

"If the US withdraws from the Treaty, we will have to decide on the deployment of the Barguzin rail-mobile missile system and its placement on combat duty within the Strategic Missile Forces. Located in a deployment area from Moscow to Vladivostok and superficially indistinguishable from conventional refrigerated trains, these nuclear trains have the capability to launch a nuclear missile strike against a potential aggressor at any time and at any point along the route. Moreover, it is impossible for enemy satellite reconnaissance systems to detect their current location," he said.

According to the military analyst, the intercontinental ballistic missile designed for the Barguzin rail-mobile missile system is largely unified with the well-established solid-fuel Yars ICBM and Bulava SLBM, facilitating its adoption. "The intercontinental ballistic missile designed for the Barguzin rail-mobile missile system is 90% common with the solid-propelled Yars and Bulava missiles. The production of these missiles has been well set up and they boast almost 100% effectiveness and reliability. Therefore, it is clear that to maintain strategic balance with the United States, as well as the UK and France (Russia must now take into account the combined nuclear potential of these three NATO countries), the deployment of at least five Barguzin rail-mobile missile systems is necessary," Korotchenko noted.

About the New START Treaty

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed in April 2010 by the presidents of the United States and Russia and entered into force on February 5, 2011. It established strict quantitative limits on the deployed strategic nuclear forces of both countries.

In February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was suspending its participation in the New START Treaty, but not withdrawing from it. Before returning to dialogue on the Treaty, Russia wanted to understand how the arsenals of other NATO nuclear powers—the United Kingdom and France—would be accounted for. At the same time, Moscow and Washington stated that they would voluntarily continue to adhere to the Treaty’s main quantitative limits until its expiration.

On September 22, 2025, Vladimir Putin announced at a meeting with the Russian Security Council that Moscow was prepared to adhere to the stated limits for another year after the New START Treaty expires in February 2026. He emphasized that this measure was feasible only if Washington followed suit. A few days later, US President Donald Trump praised the Russian leader's initiative, but no official response to Moscow's proposal was received from Washington.

Thus, on February 5, 2026, the New START Treaty officially lapsed. This means that for the first time since 1972, there are no legally binding agreements on nuclear arms limitations between the two largest nuclear powers.