Vladimir Putin pulls out of only remaining nuclear arms treaty with US

Russia is suspending its participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the US, President Vladimir Putin announced in a two-hour speech as he blamed Western countries for the invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Putin risked further inflaming tensions with the West ahead of the first anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine by using a state-of-the-nation address to announce Russia would be pulling out of the New START Treaty.

The pact, signed in 2010 by the US and Russia, caps the number of long-range nuclear warheads the two sides can deploy and limits the use of missiles that can carry atomic weapons.