Wider Disarmament Under Pressure.

Kimball also warns of broader implications for nuclear disarmament.

“The hard-won progress against nuclear weapons use, nuclear testing and nuclear proliferation is under stress,” he says.

He specifically calls out the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia, which expires in February 2026. “If there’s not agreement to replace it,” Kimball says, “the U.S. and Russia could rapidly expand their deployed nuclear warheads, which are currently capped at about 1,550 each.”

He also warns of “the first three-way nuclear arms race in history,” citing China’s expanding arsenal. Meanwhile, Iran’s uranium enrichment and North Korea’s expanding program continue to pose global threats.