United States Withdraws from ABM Treaty

On June 13, 2002, the United States formally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, six months after President George W. Bush gave notification. Bush cited post-Cold War threats from states and terrorist actors that required missile defense capabilities the treaty prohibited. This marked the first U.S. withdrawal from a major arms control agreement. Russia responded by declaring it would no longer abide by the START II treaty. The U.S. began construction on a missile defense test site in Alaska. Putin later cited the withdrawal as the trigger for Russian nuclear modernization programs announced in 2018.