A former US special envoy has stated that Ukraine never had control over the nuclear weapons it transferred to Russia in the 1990s, in accordance with the Budapest Memorandum. Richard Grenell, who served as the US Ambassador to Germany from 2018 to 2020, made the comment in a recent post on X.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine inherited a significant portion of the former Soviet nuclear arsenal, temporarily making it the third-strongest nuclear power. However, the weapons remained under Russian operational control and Kiev lacked the technical capabilities to launch them.
In 1994, Ukraine, along with the US, Russia and the UK, signed the Budapest Memorandum, under which Kiev agreed to transfer all its nuclear weapons to Russia in exchange for security guarantees.
Grenell’s comments are a response to recent statements by Ukrainian politicians, who have criticized the country’s disarmament in the 1990s. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told British journalist Piers Morgan that Ukraine was “forced” to give up its nuclear weapons and described the Budapest Memorandum as “dumb, illogical and very irresponsible.” He suggested that Kiev should either be quickly admitted to NATO or be given nuclear weapons and missile systems to counter Russia.
Retired US General Keith Kellogg, who serves as a special representative for Ukraine and Russia under the Trump administration, rejected the proposal, stating in a recent interview with Fox Digital News that the chance of Ukraine regaining its nuclear weapons is “somewhere between tiny and zero.” He added that the reality is that this will not happen.
Russia has repeatedly stated that Ukraine never possessed its own nuclear weapons, as they belonged to Moscow as the sole successor of the Soviet Union. Russian representatives also emphasize that the Budapest Memorandum had envisioned a neutral status for Ukraine, which has been undermined by Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO and its attempts to acquire nuclear weapons.
Moscow points to Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO and its threats to acquire nuclear weapons as a major factor in the Ukraine crisis. In November, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that if Ukraine were to acquire nuclear weapons, Moscow would use “all the means of destruction at Russia’s disposal.