Re: It needs repeating: in 1994

On Wed, 05 Mar 2025 20:31:39 GMT, "Blueshirt" <blueshirt@indigo.news>
wrote:

It needs repeating: in 1994, Ukraine was persuaded to give up
its nuclear weapons to Russia in return for the US, the UK,
and Russia guaranteeing Ukraine's sovereignty, security, and
territorial integrity.

>
It's not really as simple as that.

The Trilateral Process: The United States, Ukraine, Russia and Nuclear
Weapons

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine had the world's third
largest nuclear arsenal on its territory. 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 result was the Trilateral
Statement, signed in January 1994, under which Ukraine agreed to
transfer the nuclear warheads to Russia for elimination. In return,
Ukraine received security assurances from the United States, Russia
and Britain; compensation for the economic value of the
highly-enriched uranium in the warheads (which could be blended down
and converted into fuel for nuclear reactors); and assistance from the
United States in dismantling the missiles, missile silos, bombers and
nuclear infrastructure on its territory. Steven Pifer recounts the
history of this unique negotiation and describes the key lessons
learned.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-trilateral-process-the-united-states-ukraine-russia-and-nuclear-weapons/