Ukraine Threatens to Reconsider Nuclear Weapons Abandonment Intentions If ...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that he is initiating negotiations with the participants of the Budapest Memorandum regarding security guarantees. If the participant countries fail to provide security assurances for Ukraine, Kyiv may consider nullifying the memorandum.

“I am initiating consultations within the framework of the Budapest Memorandum. The responsibility for their conduct has been entrusted to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. If these consultations fail again or do not yield security guarantees for our country, Ukraine will have full rights to believe that the Budapest Memorandum is not functioning, and all package decisions from 1994 will be called into question,” Zelensky stated at the Munich Security Conference.

The memorandum, signed in December 1994 by Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Russia, and the United States, stipulates that Ukraine’s authorities have committed to nuclear non-proliferation in response to respect for the country's security and sovereignty. Additionally, the participant countries were obligated to refrain from using force against Ukraine.