Budapest Memorandum Anniversary

Source: Bukvy

On December 5, 1994, the USA, Great Britain and Russia in Budapest signed a memorandum on providing Ukraine with security guarantees from nuclear powers in exchange for Ukraine’s renunciation of nuclear weapons.

The international agreement, signed on December 5, 1994, guaranteed Ukraine the indivisibility of its territorial integrity and political independence, as well as the refusal to use force or threats of force against it.

Prerequisites for signing the Budapest Memorandum

After the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine became an independent state with a significant nuclear arsenal.

Initially, Ukraine planned to keep nuclear weapons, but under the pressure from NATO member states, it agreed to give them up.

In 1994, Ukraine signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, under which it undertook to destroy its entire nuclear arsenal within seven years.

In exchange for giving up nuclear weapons, Ukraine received security guarantees from Russia, Great Britain and the United States in the form of the Budapest Memorandum.

Violation of the Budapest Memorandum

In 2003, Russia violated the memorandum for the first time with its actions on the island of Tuzla.

Tuzla Island is located in the Kerch Strait between Ukraine and Russia. In 2003, Russia began building a dam on the island, which threatened to block shipping to Ukrainian ports. Ukraine condemned these actions of Russia as a violation of the Budapest Memorandum and appealed to the UN to take measures to resolve this issue.

The UN created an international commission to investigate the situation. The commission concluded that Russia violated the Budapest Memorandum and its actions were illegal.

In response to the decision of the UN commission, Russia agreed to stop the construction of the dam, but did not apologize for its actions and did not pay any compensation to Ukraine.

In 2014, Russia again violated its obligations and illegally occupied Crimea and started the war in Donbas.

On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and continues to threaten the world with nuclear weapons.