President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia would withdraw from the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) pact with the United States, which limits the two countries' strategic nuclear arsenals.


"In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty," Putin said at the close of a major speech to parliament, nearly a year into Ukraine's war, Reuters reported.


The New START treaty was signed in Prague in 2010, went into effect the following year, and was renewed for five years in 2021, shortly after US President Joe Biden took office.


It restricts the amount of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy, as well as the use of land-based and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.


According to reports, Russia maintains the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, with around 6,000 warheads. Russia and the United States own almost 90 per cent of the world's nuclear warheads, enough to destroy the planet several times over.


A day after US President Joe Biden's secret visit to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday made a statement in the Parliament and slammed the West for its 'lies' and 'fraud'. He stated that he was attempting to do things peacefully, but that "a difficult scenario was being prepared" behind his back.


Putin told lawmakers from both chambers of Russia's parliament and other high-level visitors, including troops, that Western countries were reportedly "preparing a different scenario," according to The Moscow Times.


In a veiled attack on the West, Russian President Putin stated that the country's economy has shown to be more resilient than expected in the face of foreign sanctions, and that GDP has not decreased as much as predicted.


Putin also unveiled a road map for Russia's infrastructure development. He discussed plans to extend motorways from Moscow to Kazan, as well as with Mongolia and China, in order to strengthen Russia's ties with East Asia.


When President Putin speaks in Moscow, the stage is being set in neighbouring Poland's capital city for US Vice President Joe Biden's speech. The two addresses, which will be delivered on the same day, will be a spectacular event in which the men set out their contrasting visions for the Ukraine war.


(With Inputs From Agencies)