Mastermind or madman? Putin shows why the world needs new nuclear agreements

Over the span of two weeks, Russian President Vladimir Putin has transformed the delicate political balance that has held for the last half century. We are now witnessing the largest land-war in Europe since World War II, but this time with the addition of vast competing nuclear arsenals. Putin test-launched nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles last month, put his nuclear forces into “special combat readiness,” and has darkly threatened any country interfering in Ukraine with consequences “you have never seen in your history.” We appear to be hurtling towards a renewed Cold War between Russia and the West, with the social and economic integration accomplished over the past three decades evaporating at breakneck pace.