Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

The Budapest Memorandum: A Deal That Should Have Ensured Peace in Ukraine

The Budapest Memorandum: A Deal That Should Have Ensured Peace in Ukraine

By invading Ukraine, Russia has once again offended the nation’s sovereignty, and in doing so, breached the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Russia is among the signatories of the agreement, which ensured respect for Ukraine’s borders and freedom from being invaded by Russia, in return for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons.

Ukraine had around 1,700 nuclear warheads in 1994, more than the amount the United Kingdom, China, and France had put together. With the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world, the Ukrainian government now had a very strong deterrent to Russian aggression, but also a bargaining tool.

Powerful, but Dangerous Bargaining Tools


The weapons Ukraine possessed were its inheritance in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), formed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The launch codes for the weapons were protected in Russia. At this point, the Ukrainian government had the option of reprogramming the weapons (a 2016 study suggested this would have taken roughly a year and a half), which would have made it the third most relevant nuclear power.

"But the government was also given a second major option: assurance from the two biggest nuclear powers, Russia and the United States, along with the United Kingdom, that the state’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty would be respected if it gave up its armament.


It was understandably difficult for Ukraine to enter the deal. Not only did it have a history of fighting for independence against Russia, but analysts were already warning of a Russian invasion in 1993 in the case that the warheads were given up. The economic difficulties that faced post-Soviet states were mounting in the early 90s, and it was in the interest of Western powers to avoid serious conflict by ensuring that preferably only one state, Russia, would have nuclear weapons. With pressure from both sides, Ukraine had to make a decision.

A Formal Assurance of Ukraine’s Sovereignty


In 1993, Ukraine signed a deal with Russia giving up its claims to the warheads and the Black Sea Fleet (the weakened fleet was in the Ukrainian territory of Crimea after the Soviet Union’s dissolution) in return for 2.5 billion dollars in gas and oil debt cancellation and future supplies for its nuclear power reactors. But the country’s entry into the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was a negotiation which took three years, culminating in the Budapest Memorandum.

US President Bill Clinton, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, and Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk signed the Memorandum in Budapest on December 5. In return for entering the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the USA, the UK and Russia agreed to the following:

1. Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and existing borders shall be respected.

2. The signatories shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territory or political independence of Ukraine.

3. The signatories shall refrain from influencing Ukrainian politics with economic pressure.

4. Immediate United Nations Security Council action shall provide assistance to Ukraine if it becomes the victim “of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.”

5. Nuclear weapons shall not be used against Ukraine

6. Consult in the event that questions arise on these commitments

Putin Breaks Promise of Peace on False Claims


Vladimir Putin first breached the treaty in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, violating Ukraine’s sovereignty. Putin claimed that his actions were justified, describing the Ukrainian situation as a revolution. “A new state arises,” he said, to which “we have not signed any obligatory documents.”

Once again, Putin feels the need to break the international agreement to meet his territorial ambitions. This time around he’s claimed that Russian troops need to “denazify” Ukraine, which is ironic considering that Volodymyr Zelensky is of Jewish origin, and was elected in a fair election with 70 percent of the vote.

The impact of Russia’s breach of the agreement is clear to everyone watching the news, and will continue to destabilize the region. Zelensky warned the 58th Munich Security Conference on February 19 that inasmuch as Russia chooses to breach the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine is just as capable of doing the same.

Claims of Ukrainian Nuclear Rearmament Unrealistic


The Ukrainian president brought up the sixth point of the Memorandum, emphasizing that Ukraine has tried to bring together the signatories for a consultation three times since 2014, but all attempts have been unsuccessful.

Zelensky’s warning underscores a rebuilding of the nation’s nuclear arsenal, an option which Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany said the government was already considering last spring.

The alleged potential of Ukraine to produce nuclear weapons has also been cited by Russian officials as a justification for war. However, there is no proof of Ukraine having begun rearming itself with nuclear weapons. In fact, Western experts have asserted that Ukraine does not have the scientific, logistical, financial, and geopolitical strength to arm itself with nuclear warheads at this time.

On a positive note, the condemnation Russia has received by nearly the entire international community shows that international agreements such as the Budapest Memorandum do hold relevance in establishing right from wrong. Even if Putin chooses to break the agreement in favor of political ambitions, the offence has been recorded, and will be remembered.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×