Don't Betray Ukraine Again.No Excuses This Time! Reflections on today's anniversary of infamous 1994 Budapest Memorand [View all]

Memorandum
https://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/65679

Thirty-one years ago today – Dec. 5, 1994 – the leaders of the United States, United Kingdom, and Russia gathered in Budapest for what was meant to be a triumph of diplomacy.

Ukraine had just inherited the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal from the collapsed Soviet Union – nearly 2,000 nuclear weapons. It agreed to give up every single one in exchange for security assurances from the very powers now deciding its fate.

Today’s meetings in Miami should alarm anyone paying attention.

The Budapest Memorandum promised to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and borders. No use of force. No economic coercion. A new model for the post-Cold War world, they said.

It was an illusion – an empty pledge.

Russia seized Crimea in 2014 and parts of Ukraine’s Donbas region. It launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. Now, on this grim anniversary, the US appears ready to betray Ukraine again – this time by pressuring Kyiv into a peace deal that rewards Russian aggression, abandons Ukrainian sovereignty, and violates its territorial integrity.

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