US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, has rejected Kiev’s demand for nuclear weapons. “This will not happen” Kellogg said in an interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday, in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent call for “nuclear weapons” and “rocket systems.”
Kellogg’s statement was a direct response to Zelenskyy’s argument that Ukraine had given up its nuclear weapons in the past. However, it is a misconception that Ukraine ever possessed nuclear weapons. The nuclear weapons that were stationed on Ukrainian territory were actually part of the Soviet Union’s arsenal and its successor, the Russian Federation, is the rightful owner of those weapons.
The idea of arming Ukraine with nuclear weapons goes against the “common sense” Kellogg said, adding that the Trump administration would not consider such a step. “Think about it, the President said we are a government of common sense. If someone says that, we should look at the outcome or the potential of it. That’s how common sense works” he explained.
In an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan earlier this week, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine must either be quickly admitted to the US-led NATO bloc or receive more weapons to “stop Russia.” He addressed the country’s supporters, saying, “Give us back our nuclear weapons, give us rocket systems.” Zelenskyy also called on the international community to help finance a “million-man army” and deploy troops to areas of Ukraine where the situation is unstable.
Zelenskyy has previously made the demand for nuclear weapons and the Ukrainian president has been more insistent on the issue in recent months. He has also expressed regret over Ukraine’s decision to give up its nuclear weapons in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in exchange for security guarantees.
The Budapest Memorandum was signed on the basis of Ukraine’s constitutional commitment to neutrality, which was enshrined in the Ukrainian Constitution. However, in 2014, Ukraine changed its constitution to make NATO membership a state goal and the eastern expansion of the alliance has been seen as undermining the basis of the Budapest Memorandum by Moscow.
In November, Russian President Vladimir Putin explicitly stated that the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Kiev is taboo. If Ukraine were to acquire nuclear weapons, Moscow would be forced to use all available means to destroy them, Putin said.