DISINFO: Ukraine abandoned its nuclear weapons due to US aggression against the country
SUMMARY
The United States threatened to erase Ukraine if the country did not give up its nuclear potential: therefore, the Ukrainian leadership, fearing the American threat, made concessions and began disarmament. Moscow and Washington recognised the inability of Ukraine to control nuclear weapons, with which anything could happen through the fault of Kуiv.
RESPONSE
This disinformation message distorts the reality as can be seen in an interview with the first president of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk, which touched upon the topic of Ukraine's nuclear disarmament after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Kravchuk said that at that time, the United States warned the Ukrainian leadership about the possible introduction of economic restrictions against Ukraine if it did not give up its nuclear potential. The problem was not that Ukraine may accidentally launch missiles, but that all warheads in Ukraine were aimed at the United States, and the so-called nuclear suitcase was in the Kremlin. Thus, all launchers were controlled exclusively by Moscow, which meant that Ukraine could not guarantee their security to its western partners. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine held the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world made up of intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons. On 24 October 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a statement on the country's nuclear-free status. Three years later, Ukraine actually joined the nuclear non-proliferation treaties. In exchange, the leaders of the United States, Russia and the United Kingdom signed the Budapest memorandum with guarantees of the integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. Read more about the nuclear arsenal here. Further debunking by StopFake.