Terrifying WW3 warning with Russia and US on brink of ‘unconstrained arms race'POLL: Are you worried about Vladimir Putin declaring WW3?

The looming collapse of New START follows the breakdown of earlier arms control agreements, including the INF Treaty in 2019 and the US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2001. Russia has long argued that US missile defence systems threaten its nuclear deterrent, prompting the development of new weapons such as the Poseidon nuclear-powered underwater drone and the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile. Tensions have been further inflamed by Mr Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defence system, which Moscow says could trigger a new arms race. Mr Kimball warned Russia and China are likely to respond by building more offensive weapons, which are cheaper and faster to produce than defensive systems. Fears have also been raised by Mr Trump’s remarks last year about potentially resuming US nuclear testing, something Putin said Russia would match if it happened. Mr Kimball said the world is entering a far more dangerous phase of strategic competition: “This marks a potential turning point into a much more dangerous period of global nuclear competition, the likes of which we’ve not seen in our lifetimes.”