ℹ On this day, June 1, 1996, we transferred the last nuclear missiles to the Federation of #russia in accordance with the #Budapest Memorandum.
In 1991, #Ukraine had 130 SS-19, 46 SS-24, up to 43 Tu-95MS and Tu-160, up to 2156 strategic nuclear warheads and up to 4200 tactical nuclear warheads.
↪ This diplomatic memorandum was signed in December 1994 by #Ukraine, #russia, the #UnitedStates, and the #UnitedKingdom. It's not a formal treaty, but rather a document under which signatories made promises to each other as part of the denuclearization of former #Soviet republics after the dissolution of the #SovietUnion.
The main idea was for #Ukraine to give up its Soviet-era nuclear weapons and sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. ⏩
↪ In return, #russia, the #US, and the #UK promised to respect #Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and not to threaten or use force against it. It's like a global game of "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine," but with nuclear weapons and international borders.
Unfortunately, the #Budapest Memorandum has been a bit of a sore spot in recent years. Some folks argue that #russia's actions in #Crimea and eastern #Ukraine in 2014 violated the memorandum. ⏩
↪ It's like that one time at a party when you thought you had a deal with your friend to share the last slice of pizza, but they ate it all themselves. Not cool, right?
So, the #Budapest Memorandum is a reminder that even in the world of international diplomacy, sometimes promises can be broken, and it's not always easy to enforce the rules. But hey, at least they tried, right?