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31 years of the Budapest Memorandum — lessons for the world
Exactly 31 years ago, on 5 December 1994, Ukraine, the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia signed the Budapest Memorandum. The international agreement was meant to guarantee Ukraine’s security in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons.
Novyny.LIVE explains what the signatories pledged to Ukraine and when Russia first violated those commitments.
What the signatories promised Ukraine
The agreement on nuclear disarmament was signed by President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, US President Bill Clinton, Russia’s President Boris Yeltsin and UK Prime Minister John Major.
By signing the memorandum, Ukraine agreed to dismantle the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal and join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear state.
In return, the signatories committed to:
- respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and existing borders;
- refrain from the threat or use of force against Ukraine;
- avoid economic pressure aimed at subordinating Ukraine to their own interests;
- appeal to the UN Security Council if Ukraine became a victim of aggression;
- not use nuclear weapons against Ukraine;
- consult in case situations arise that concern these commitments.
When Russia violated the agreement
In 2014, Russia occupied parts of Donbas and the Crimean peninsula, violating every key guarantee of the memorandum. Beyond disregarding Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Russia used military force and economic coercion.
Moscow also refused consultations under the memorandum, which Ukraine initiated after the aggression began in 2014.
Do the US and UK comply with the Budapest Memorandum?
The United States and the United Kingdom have supported Ukraine extensively during the full-scale invasion, but the memorandum does not obligate them to enter the war. It is not a collective defence pact like NATO’s Article 5, which treats an attack on one member as an attack on all.
Ukraine’s nuclear arsenal
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine inherited the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal — second only to the US and Russia. It was Soviet-made weaponry; Ukraine never developed its own nuclear arsenal.
On Ukrainian territory there were:
- about 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) RS-18 and RS-22 with roughly 1,900 nuclear warheads;
- artillery shells, aerial bombs and other nuclear-armed munitions;
- strategic bombers Tu-95MS and Tu-160 equipped with nuclear cruise missiles.
What happened to this arsenal
In 1992, Ukraine returned all tactical nuclear weapons to Russia under international agreements, and they were dismantled.
All nuclear warheads were removed to Russia by 1996. ICBMs and their silos were dismantled under international programs.
The bombers were partly destroyed and partly transferred to Russia to settle gas debts.
Ukraine officially ceased to be a nuclear-armed state on 2 June 1996, when the last nuclear warhead was shipped to Russia.
Why Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons
One major reason was economic and technical incapacity — maintaining a nuclear arsenal required billions of dollars, and Ukraine’s economy in the early 1990s was in crisis.
There were also concerns about technical risks and potential accidents, especially in the aftermath of the Chornobyl disaster.
Moreover, the nuclear weapons on Ukrainian soil were under Russian control: launch codes, command systems and maintenance were managed by Russia. Without these systems, using the weapons was technically impossible.
At the same time, international partners pressed Ukraine to join the NPT as a non-nuclear state.
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