Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Budapest_Memorandum
Budapest Memorandum - Wikipedia
1 month ago - The memoranda, signed in Patria ... in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations". As a result of the memorandum and other agreements, between 1993 and 1996, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons....
former possessed weapons
Factsheet
Country Ukraine
Country Ukraine
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Ukraine_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction
Ukraine and weapons of mass destruction - Wikipedia
January 3, 2026 - Moreover, Ukraine had no nuclear weapons program and would have struggled to replace nuclear weapons once their service life expired. Instead, by agreeing to give up the nuclear weapons, Ukraine received financial compensations and the security assurances of the Budapest Memorandum.
Videos
- YouTube
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Why Doesn't Ukraine Have Nuclear Weapons? - YouTube
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Ukraine agreed to give up nuclear weapons for safety from U.S. ...
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Ukraine’s Lost Nuclear Arsenal vs. U.S. Military Aid – Was ...
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Ukraine looks back with regret at 1994 deal requiring it to give ...
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Could Ukraine build a nuclear bomb? We asked an expert - YouTube
BBC
bbc.com › news › articles › crl3ndxglwxo
Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in 1994. Now it's asking why
December 5, 2024 - Thirty years ago, on 5 December 1994, at a ceremony in Budapest, Ukraine joined Belarus and Kazakhstan in giving up their nuclear arsenals in return for security guarantees from the United States, the UK, France, China and Russia.
Arms Control Association
armscontrol.org › factsheets › ukraine-nuclear-weapons-and-security-assurances-glance
Ukraine, Nuclear Weapons, and Security Assurances at a Glance | Arms Control Association
By 1996, Ukraine had returned all of its nuclear warheads to Russia in exchange for economic aid and security assurances, and in December 1994, Ukraine became a non-nuclear weapon state-party to the 1968 nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). The last strategic nuclear delivery vehicle in Ukraine ...
NPR
npr.org › 2022 › 02 › 21 › 1082124528 › ukraine-russia-putin-invasion
Why Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons — and what that means in an invasion by Russia
February 21, 2022 - But in public sphere these more simple narratives take hold. The narrative in Ukraine, publicly is: We had the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal, we gave it up for this signed piece of paper, and look what happened.
German Marshall Fund
gmfus.org › news › despite-threat-it-faces-ukraine-was-right-give-its-nuclear-weapons
Despite the Threat it Faces, Ukraine Was Right to Give Up its Nuclear Weapons | German Marshall Fund of the United States
Given the regional instability surrounding the newly independent post-Soviet states in 1991 as well as Ukraine’s budgetary restrictions, lack of a structured military, and need to build global relationships, giving up its nuclear weapons in 1994 ...
UNITED24 Media
united24media.com › home › war in ukraine › a timeline of how ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal for peace and got russia’s war instead
A Timeline of How Ukraine Gave Up Its Nuclear Arsenal for Peace and Got Russia’s War Instead
December 5, 2025 - Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for economic support and what were meant to be ironclad security assurances respecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
National Security Archive
nsarchive.gwu.edu › sites › default › files › 2024-01 › slate.com-the_truth_about_ukraines_decision_to_give_up_its_nukes_in_the_90s_4.pdf pdf
1/3 The Truth About Ukraine’s Decision to Give Up Its Nukes in the ’90s
or any other leader at the time known that Russia would violate its guarantee of Ukrainian borders. That · pledge, though important, was more a bonus than an essential element of the accord. The nukes in Ukraine
ICAN
icanw.org › home › nuclear weapons: the problem › faqs › did ukraine give up nuclear weapons?
Did Ukraine give up nuclear weapons? - ICAN
February 7, 2022 - When the Soviet Union broke up ... nuclear weapons arsenal, or control over these weapons, but agreed to remove former Soviet weapons stationed on its territory....
Reddit
reddit.com › r/ukraine › ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in 1994. now it's asking why
r/ukraine on Reddit: Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in 1994. Now it's asking why
December 5, 2024 - And it's not just about nukes, since the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine were pushed to transfer long-range missiles,aircrafts to russia and even to dispose artillery shells. And U.S. senators like Obama gladly traveled for photo-ops to gain political points under the label of 'peace for the world'.
Brookings
brookings.edu › home › the trilateral process: the united states, ukraine, russia and nuclear weapons
The Trilateral Process: The United States, Ukraine, Russia and Nuclear Weapons | Brookings
July 28, 2016 - When Ukrainian-Russian negotiations on removing these weapons from Ukraine appeared to break down in September 1993, the U.S. government engaged in a trilateral process with Ukraine and Russia.
The Indian Express
indianexpress.com › news › explained
Explained: Why Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal | Explained News - The Indian Express
March 4, 2022 - It now believed that giving up the nukes was no longer necessary for its freedom. At the time, Ukraine had 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), of which 130 were liquid fuel SS-19s, and 46 were solid fuel SS-24s.
FSI
cisac.fsi.stanford.edu › news › budapest-memorandum-myths
Budapest Memorandum Myths | FSI
December 4, 2024 - December 5 marks the 30th anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum of Security Assurances for Ukraine, a key part of the settlement under which Ukraine gave up what was then the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal. Unfortunately, Russia has
Harvard Kennedy School
hks.harvard.edu › publications › budapest-memorandum-25-between-past-and-future
Budapest Memorandum at 25: Between Past and Future | Harvard Kennedy School
The signature of the so-called Budapest Memorandum concluded arduous negotiations that resulted in Ukraine’s agreement to relinquish the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal, which the country inherited from the collapsed Soviet Union, and transfer all nuclear warheads to Russia for dismantlement.
Lieber Institute West Point
lieber.westpoint.edu › home › ukraine symposium – the budapest memorandum’s history and role in the conflict
Ukraine Symposium – The Budapest Memorandum’s History and Role in the Conflict - Lieber Institute West Point
January 15, 2025 - Last month of 2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum, part of an agreement by which Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal in return for security assurances by Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
NTI
nti.org › home › ukraine
Ukraine
June 25, 2025 - Upon Ukraine’s 1991 independence, over 1,700 Soviet nuclear weapons were left on its territory. Ukraine never possessed operational control of the weapons, and all were removed to Russia under a 1994 agreement in exchange for security assurances.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/askhistorians › how did ukraine decide to give its nuclear arsenal to russia in 1994?
r/AskHistorians on Reddit: How did Ukraine decide to give its nuclear arsenal to Russia in 1994?
August 12, 2025 -
I just don't get it. 4th largest nuclear arsenal means that they could make everyone scared. Same goes for Kazakhstan and Belarus. Corruption can't possibly be the reason behind this. Did the West not want to deal with 3 more nuclear powers and made KZ, UA and BY hand them to Russia? Not to mention the whole Russo-Ukrainian conflict wouldn't be happening if the Ukrainians had nukes. I've heard that maintenance was expensive but Russia didn't have money either after the collapse of the USSR. I just can't wrap my mind around this please give me a very detailed answer.
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Ukraine inherited its weapons from the Soviet Union. It did not have the facilities to produce more, or maintain them, or even to use them. Now, it could have possibly developed those capabilities. But there was pressure on it from all sides to accept a deal in which it would remit them to the Russian Federation, which was the part of the USSR that actually had the resources and facilities to continue its nuclear arsenal. And Russia had considerably more resources at its disposal than Ukraine in 1991 (as a rough metric, the Ukrainian GDP in 1991 was $77 billion and dropping, bottoming out at $32 billion in 1999; the Russian GDP was $518 billion in 1991, and bottomed at $196 billion in 1999; per capita the Russian GDP was 3X the Ukrainian one). Russia needed resources to maintain its stockpile; Ukraine would need resources to built up the infrastructure for maintaining/using/etc. one. Ukraine agreed to do this only under the terms of a deal that was supposed to guarantee it security against any threats it might want nuclear weapons for. What those guarantees were worth, well, that's unclear. But those were the terms it agreed to do this. It very deliberately used them as a bargaining chip. And yes, the reason why there was pressure on them is that neither the US, Western Europe, nor Russia were exactly excited about there being several new nuclear states in world, especially in countries that did not have the infrastructure to maintain them, and where the economic conditions were very bad. There were very real fears that this could lead to weapons falling into the wrong hands. The US also was investing in helping Russia maintain and upgrade its facilities for its own nuclear materials for the same reason, and even undertook a massive program to buy excess Russian plutonium and to turn it into fuel for US civilian reactors.
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Visit Ukraine
visitukraine.today › visit ukraine › blog › nuclear disarmament: why ukraine gave up nuclear weapons and whether their deployment in belarus is legal
Visit Ukraine - Nuclear disarmament: why Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons and whether their deployment in Belarus is legal
First, they showed their willingness to provide financial support in exchange for giving up weapons. Secondly, the United States, together with the United Kingdom and russia, signed the Budapest Memorandum, which was supposed to guarantee the inviolability of Ukrainian territory.
NYTimes
nytimes.com › 2022 › 02 › 05 › science › ukraine-nuclear-weapons.html
Ukraine Gave Up a Giant Nuclear Arsenal 30 Years Ago. Today There Are Regrets. (Published 2022)
February 5, 2022 - The Soviet collapse, a slow-motion downfall that culminated in December 1991, resulted in the newly independent Ukraine inheriting roughly 5,000 nuclear arms that Moscow had stationed on its soil.
RFE/RL
rferl.org › a › ukraine-zelenskiy-nuclear-weapons-interview-trump-putin- › 33291628.html
Ukraine Giving Up Nukes Was 'Absolutely Stupid, Illogical, And Very Irresponsible,' Zelenskyy Says
January 29, 2025 - Zelenskyy said he reminded Trump about the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, the deal under which Ukraine agreed to give up its small holdings of nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees -- from Russia, the United States, and Britain.