The strategic arsenal ensures deterrence and global balance of power, the president has said

Russia will continue to improve its military and technological capabilities, and the nuclear triad is an "unconditional priority" in this regard, President Vladimir Putin has said.

Putin made the remarks on Monday in a video address marking Defender of the Fatherland Day, as he praised service members for their dedication to defending national sovereignty, particularly amid the military operation against Kiev.

The Russian president pledged to strengthen the army and navy using combat experience from the Ukraine conflict, and boost combat readiness across all military branches with the help of Russia's science and high-tech industries.

"The development of the nuclear triad, which guarantees Russia's security and enables us to effectively ensure strategic deterrence and balance of power in the world, remains our unconditional priority," he said.

The address came less than a month after the expiration of the New START Treaty - the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between Russia and the US. The deal, signed in 2010, limited both sides to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads on 700 delivery systems and required regular on-site inspections.

Despite the expiration of the treaty, Moscow stressed that it has no intention of being "the first to take steps towards escalation" and increasing the number of warheads, on condition that the US takes the same approach.

The New START Treaty expired after the administration of US President Donald Trump signaled that it wants future nuclear arms control deals to include China - which has rejected the idea as "neither fair nor reasonable," arguing that its arsenal is vastly inferior to that of Russia and the US.

(RT.com)