Why Ukraine Gave Up the World’s 3rd-Largest Nuclear Arsenal? | Who’s Shalise? Ep. 51

Did you know Ukraine once had the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal?

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine inherited thousands of nuclear warheads, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and strategic bombers stationed on its territory. Overnight, Ukraine became one of the largest nuclear powers in the world, but without full operational control over the weapons.

So why did Ukraine give them up, while countries like North Korea and Iran continue pursuing nuclear weapons?

The answer lies in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances. Under this agreement, Ukraine agreed to dismantle its nuclear arsenal and join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclear state. In return, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom pledged to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, borders, and independence.

History tells a painful story. One of the countries that promised to protect Ukraine’s borders later violated the agreement, first with the seizure of Crimea in 2014, and again with the full-scale invasion in 2022.

Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons because it was promised security. Today, that decision sits at the center of global debates about trust, deterrence, nuclear disarmament, and international guarantees.

This channel exists to bridge polarization by normalizing something we’ve forgotten how to do: talk with each other, even when we disagree. Understanding history helps us have better conversations about the world we share.

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Видео Why Ukraine Gave Up the World’s 3rd-Largest Nuclear Arsenal? | Who’s Shalise? Ep. 51 канала Who's Shalise?