Relations encompass European security, nuclear arms control, energy, cyber operations, and interference in democratic processes. The disagreement is over whether sustained pressure or renewed engagement better serves American interests.
Russia and the United States hold the large majority of the world's nuclear weapons. The arms control architecture built over decades has substantially eroded, with several major treaties lapsed or suspended.
Sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine are among the most extensive ever applied to a major economy. Assessments of their effect vary considerably, and Russia has redirected much trade toward other partners.
Cyber operations and information campaigns operate below the threshold of armed conflict, which makes responses difficult to calibrate. Attribution is often possible but rarely immediate or uncontested.