There is a huge difference in the geographical and military strength of Russia and Ukraine. Even after this, Moscow often continued to show aggression towards Kiev. Even after the partition of the Soviet Union (now Russia), his attitude was the same. His condition was that he would be pacified if Ukraine returned or destroyed its nuclear stockpile. However this did not happen. So does Kiev still have some nuclear power left?
After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ukraine became an independent country in 1991. At that time the Soviet Union had a huge stockpile of nuclear weapons. Under Soviet strategy, these weapons were located in different places and in Ukraine they were in greatest concentration. Even though Moscow had control of the weapons, they were on Ukrainian soil. This stockpile is available in America and Russia Was the largest after.
Why was Russia interested?
if by any means ukraine Had Russia got control over these, Russia’s position could have been weakened. For him this was a big issue of national security. Russia also feared that if Ukraine moved closer to NATO, nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of the West. This would have been a direct attack on Russia, which was weakened in the Cold War.
After separation, Ukraine was politically and economically unstable. Moscow started suppressing this weak vein. He assured him that if he returned the nuclear stockpile to Russia, his borders would remain safe. At that time, energy was being supplied to Ukraine from Moscow itself. On handing over the weapons, he was assured of financial assistance and crude oil and gas at cheaper rates.
Why did Ukraine agree?
He himself was bored. He had got a white elephant in the name of weapons, which was of no use, on the contrary, there was huge expenditure on its maintenance every year, which a weak country like that could not afford. Besides, there was pressure on it from other strong countries to give up its weapons. He agreed to hand over his weapons on the hope of getting political support and financial help. In 1994, the Budapest Memorandum was signed and the transaction was completed.
In the memorandum, Russia had promised that if Ukraine handed over its nuclear weapons, it would respect its security and borders, but since then it has attacked Ukraine twice. For the first time, it captured Crimea after the attack in 2014. The war that has started now has been going on for almost four years. Attacking and occupying land is directly against this promise.
Is this a legal offense?
No. The Budapest Memorandum was a political promise. It talked about respecting the borders, not that it would provide military security. Anyway, it was a political and moral friendship, not any law. Legally, there is no direct pressure on Russia not to take military action. Treaty is different from treaty, which means a legally binding treaty, if broken, legal action can be taken in the International Court.
In a few years, when Ukraine started appearing closer to America or the West, Russia felt insecure and broke its political promise and attacked Ukraine.
So does Ukraine have any more? nuclear weapons or no plants left
At present it neither has any nuclear weapons nor any active nuclear plant. Now in the plant, only electricity is generated. The International Nuclear Agency (IAEA) is also keeping an eye on this.
Why is this being discussed now?
A few days ago news came that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are going to meet in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, and the real issue will be Ukraine. About thirty years ago, there were talks between America and Russia on the same issue, when the Budapest Agreement was signed.
But this time the situation is different. After getting the approval, both the leaders suddenly postponed the meeting. It is believed that Trump and Putin are not on the same page, and perhaps Putin is not ready to budge from his conditions under any circumstances. So in this way Budapest became witness to a major agreement.
People want to become nuclear-powered again
Interesting thing is that the Ukrainians, who surrendered their weapons three decades ago, now want to regain this power, even if it means losing their friendship with the West. This survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology revealed that 58% of Ukrainian citizens want this. They feel that if they had nuclear power, Russia would not have repeatedly bullied them on their borders.
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