“He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever changes with the next block.”  –William Shakespeare, “Much Ado about Nothing”, Act 1 Scene 1 

On December 5, 1994, Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the USA and Great Britain signed the Budapest Memorandum. What was the price of the promises of Russia and the West?

By the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, about 30% of the Soviet nuclear arsenal was located on the territory of Ukraine, consisting of intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers. However, it did not have complete control over these weapons – the launch keys remained with the Russian Federation.

With the signing of the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine abandoned all nuclear power in exchange for security guarantees. What happened in the end? The Russian Federation violated the agreements, now threatening Ukraine and the world with a nuclear strike. What was promised to Ukraine and what actually happened?

The international community, especially the United States and Russia, sought to persuade Ukraine to give up its nuclear status. Persuasion was presented under a plausible pretext: “to reduce the threat of the proliferation of nuclear........

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