Budapest Memorandum: Ukraine had about ten times more nuclear weapons than India has today. This was the time when Western countries did not want any other country to have these weapons.
Ukraine Russia War: A fierce war is going on between Ukraine and Russia, both countries that were once part of the Soviet Union. Thousands of soldiers have been killed from both sides. All the countries of the world are contributing to end this war. Russia has attacked Ukraine because it did not want Ukraine to join NATO, but there was a time when Ukraine did not need to join NATO for its security. It was capable of protecting itself. If Ukraine had nuclear weapons today, Russia would hardly think of attacking it.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, thousands of nuclear weapons were left on Ukrainian soil by Moscow. In many documents, their number is said to be around 2 thousand, which means Ukraine had about ten times more nuclear weapons than the number of weapons India has today. This was the time when Western countries did not want any other country to have these weapons. Therefore, other countries including America put pressure on Ukraine and tried to get it on their side.
America gave up nuclear weapons on the advice of
These nuclear weapons remained Ukraine’s strength for some years after 1991, but the Western countries did not want any other country to have these weapons. So, following their advice, Ukraine decided to completely abandon nuclear weapons. In return, the US, Britain and Russia guaranteed Ukraine’s security in the Budapest Memorandum of 1994.
According to an interview published in National Public Radio, while signing this agreement, Ukraine knew that it was not getting any major legal guarantees in this deal, which it had asked for. But it was a big challenge for a newly independent country to handle such a large stockpile of nuclear weapons. Western countries and Russia had assured them that they would take this guarantee really seriously. They would not leave Ukraine alone in case of any attack.
After this agreement, the Ukrainian government was successful in convincing its people that we have the security guarantee of all the western countries including America, which will protect us from all the upcoming threats. Along with America, this agreement also included the biggest successor of the Soviet Union and the new country Russia. Therefore, the people of Ukraine did not have much problem with this deal. At the time when this agreement was made, the atmosphere in the world regarding nuclear weapons was that only those who have it should have it. Therefore, Ukraine also accepted this. When India conducted a nuclear explosion in 1998, like other western countries, Ukraine also recommended and also imposed sanctions on India.
What is Russia’s stance on this treaty
According to the report, the treaty stipulated that Ukraine could call a meeting of its member countries if needed. Ukraine called this meeting when Russia invaded Crimea in February 2014. At this meeting held in Paris, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov refused to attend the meeting even though he was in Paris. In this regard, Russia argued that it had not signed a treaty with this illegitimate government but with a different government.
Whatever decision Ukraine has taken according to the circumstances of 1994, there are different opinions among the people knowledgeable about this matter. Some say that Ukraine’s decision was correct according to that time because according to the treaty, Ukraine was assured by both the sides that it would not face any security problem. The other group says that the then Ukrainian government had trusted the Western countries and the Russian government too much. However, when US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken was asked a question in this regard, he said that we respect that agreement and we are continuously helping Ukraine for its security.
