In a critical move to reduce the risk of an accident triggering a nuclear war between the United States and Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov announced that, despite the cancelation of the New Start treaty, Moscow will voluntarily continue to inform Wasgington of its missile launches. Moscow called the decision an “act of good will.”
This policy is crucial to avoid misunderstandings about the nature of missile launches, which can be either a test or a nuclear attack. Given the minimal response time (between 6 and 30 minutes from launch to detonation), knowing the nature of the other nation’s missile lauches is essential to prevent an unintended nuclear exchange.