In an effort to prevent a possible nuclear war, in 2010 the US and Russia signed a treaty called New START. The agreement required some transparency on nuclear data between the 2 countries as well as allowing oversight of their nuclear weapons. The agreement also set limits on the number of nuclear weapons each country could possess to possess. But in February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would no longer participate in this treaty and shortly thereafter Russia began transferring tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan explained the situation.

"Today we are at what our president calls a turning point in terms of our nuclear stability and security. This is a point that requires new strategies to achieve the same goal that has been in front of us since the Cold War - to reduce the risk of nuclear conflict."

He said the US no longer needed nuclear weapons to prevent nuclear war.