START II banned MIRVed ICBMs between the US and Russia but never entered into force after both countries withdrew in 2002.
Key Facts
- Date Signed
- 3 January 1993
- US Senate Ratification Vote
- 87–4
- US Senate Ratification Date
- 26 January 1996
- Russia Ratification Date
- 14 April 2000
- US ABM Treaty Withdrawal
- 13 June 2002
- Successor Treaty Warhead Limit
- 1,700–2,200 per country
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the United States and Russia sought to reduce their nuclear arsenals. The earlier START I treaty had laid groundwork for deeper cuts, and both nations aimed to eliminate the destabilizing threat posed by MIRVed intercontinental ballistic missiles, which allowed a single missile to strike multiple targets independently.
START II was signed on 3 January 1993 by US President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The treaty banned the use of multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles on ICBMs, earning it the informal name the De-MIRVing Agreement. The US Senate ratified it in 1996 and Russia conditionally ratified it in 2000.
START II never entered into effect. Russia's ratification was contingent on preserving the ABM Treaty and US ratification of an addendum; when the US withdrew from the ABM Treaty in June 2002, Russia withdrew from START II the following day. The successor agreement, SORT, instead came into force, capping each country's strategic warheads at 1,700–2,200.
Political Outcome
Treaty never entered into force; both parties withdrew by June 2002 following the US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty.