Ukraine, formerly a republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 to 1991, once hosted Soviet nuclear weapons and delivery systems on its territory. The former Soviet Union had its nuclear program expanded to only four of its republics: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine. After its dissolution in 1991, Ukraine inherited about 130 UR-100N intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) with six warheads each, 46 RT-23 Molodets ICBMs with ten warheads apiece, as well as 33 heavy bombers, totaling approximately 1,700 nuclear warheads that remained on Ukrainian territory. Thus Ukraine became the third largest nuclear power in the world (possessing 300 more nuclear warheads than Kazakhstan, 6.5 times less than the United States, and ten times less than Russia) and held about one third of the former Soviet nuclear weapons, delivery system, and significant knowledge of its design and production. While all these weapons were located on Ukrainian territory, initially they were not under Ukraine's control. In July 1993, the Ukrainian parliament proclaimed ownership of the former Soviet nuclear weapons deployed on its territory. Testimony from the same year by Bruce G. Blair cited the Russian Ministry of Defence’s Chief Directorate for Nuclear Munitions, Colonel General Yevgeniy Maslin, who reportedly stated that Russia had de facto lost control over the nuclear weapons stationed in Ukraine. The same report noted that crews operating strategic nuclear bombers, along with subunits responsible for nuclear munitions, had been incorporated into the Ukrainian Armed Forces, while Moscow still retained operational control over the strategic missile forces at that time. By late 1993, some estimates suggested that Ukraine could break the nuclear release codes between December 1993 and March 1994, as there were no fundamental obstacles preventing it from doing so. In 1994, under the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine agreed to transfer these weapons to Russia for dismantlement and became a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, in exchange for economic compensation and assurances from Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom to respect Ukrainian independence and sovereignty within its existing borders. In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine, a violation of its assurances under the Budapest Memorandum that was compounded by Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
Nuclear arsenal after dissolution of the Soviet Union
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, about one-third of the Soviet nuclear arsenal was deployed on Ukrainian territory. Ukraine also had significant capabilities for nuclear weapon design and production. 130 UR-100N/RS-18 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) with six warheads each, 46 RT-23 Molodets ICBMs with ten warheads apiece, as well as 33 heavy bombers, totalling approximately 1,700 warheads remained on Ukrainian territory, along with 2,883 tactical nuclear weapons. Forty of the underground launch silos for the RT-23 ICBMs had been installed around the city of Pervomaisk in the Mykolaiv Oblast, the home of the 46th Rocket Division of the 43rd Rocket Army of the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces. The individual silos were scattered across the general area and often located on fields, surrounded by a fence and guarded. A group of nine or ten silos was connected to a common, underground Unified Command Post staffed by several military officers. As a republic in the Soviet Union, Ukraine was the base for the following nuclear force units:
43rd Rocket Army 19th Rocket Division (Rakovo, Khmelnytskyi Oblast) (see uk:19-та ракетна дивізія (СРСР)) 37th Guards Rocket Division (Lutsk, Volyn Oblast) 43rd Guards Rocket Division (Romny, Sumy Oblast) 46th Rocket Division (Pervomaisk, Nikolayev Oblast) 50th Rocket Division (Bilokorovychi, Zhitomir Oblast)
All military personnel except those in the Black Sea Fleet had taken loyalty oaths to Ukraine.
Budapest Memorandum
The Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine in 1990 stated that Ukraine would not accept, acquire, or produce nuclear weapons, and its government declared on 24 October 1991 that Ukraine would be a non-nuclear-weapon state. On December 5, 1994, the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States signed a memorandum to provide Ukraine with security assurances in connection with its accession to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state. The four parties signed the memorandum, containing a preamble and six paragraphs. The memorandum reads as follows:
The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Welcoming the accession of Ukraine to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as non-nuclear-weapon State, Taking into account the commitment of Ukraine to eliminate all nuclear weapons from its territory within a specified period of time, Noting the changes in the world-wide security situation, including the end of the Cold War, which have brought about conditions for deep reductions in nuclear forces. Confirm the following:
France and China's commitments France and China also provided Ukraine with assurances similar to the Budapest Memorandum, but with some significant differences. For instance, France's pledge does not contain the promises laid out in paragraphs 4 and 6 above, to refer any aggression to the UN Security Council, nor to consult in the event of a question regarding the commitments. China's pledge takes a different form entirely, dating from December 4, and reading as follows:
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
