Ukraine’s Laudable Nuclear
Policy & Russia’s Attempt to Kill NPT
Without overstating the case, in two dozen years since
declaring its independence from Soviet
Russian captivity, Ukraine has managed to create an enviable national nuclear culture worthy of emulation by countries
that have nuclear weapons, those that don’t and those who would like to
construct these weapons of mass destruction.
As a captive nation, without sovereign rights, in 1991 Ukraine
found itself in possession of the world’s third
largest nuclear arsenal, consisting of 176 intercontinental ballistic
missile (ICBM) launchers with some 1,240 warheads on its territory.
Rather than using these extremely deadly weapons as
bargaining chips to blackmail Washington, Moscow or other capitals or even sell
to any fanatical terrorist organization, Ukraine did the unthinkable by giving
them away. On May 13, 1994, the
United States and Ukraine signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Transfer
of Missile Equipment and Technology.
But surrendering Ukraine’s nuclear stockpile did have one
prerequisite. The free world and Russia agreed to guarantee Ukraine’s territorial integrity in a document that was
known as the Budapest Memorandum.
Ukraine’s foresightedness created a precedent that could
have paved the way for the realization of mankind’s dream of genuine global peace, stability and security. Countries
large and small could have been convinced to follow Ukraine’s path and stop
dreaming of their own nuclear stockpiles. But Russia’s penchant for aggression
and imperial adventurism was not to be contained and it launched a war against
its former captive nation, invaded Ukraine, and seized Crimea and two eastern
oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk. After 15 months the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014-15 has not abated and upwards of 6,000
civilians have lost their lives at the hands of Russian soldiers and mercenary
terrorists.
Imagine if Ukraine had not voluntarily surrendered its
nuclear weapons. Would Russia have had the temerity to attack its nuclear power
neighbor? Was depriving Ukraine of nuclear weapons part of Russia’s long-term
plan to restore the iron curtain and its prison of nations?
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin was at the United Nations on Thursday, April 29,
where he eloquently assured the global community of Ukraine’s unwavering belief in the practical value of the Treaty of
the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) but cautioned that Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine not only threatens the effectiveness of that document but simultaneously
global peace, security and stability. Klimkin called on the international
community to support Ukraine’s efforts to expel Russia from Ukraine for the
good of future generations.
“Ukraine has always been the country with an exceptional
role within the Non-proliferation Treaty.
“We started from voluntary refusal from the nuclear weapons
in 1994. We passed through gradual elimination of nuclear arsenal inherited
from the Soviet Union during all the following years. Finally we have
eliminated highly enriched uranium by 2012. With this background Ukraine should
have become the model state of the NPT regime.
“Ukraine's
nuclear-free success story could become an example to follow. This success
could contribute greatly into strengthening of the NPT regime.
“But all those efforts
were brought to naught by the Russian aggression against Ukraine,” Klimkin
said at the NPT Review Conference at the UN.
However, he said, Russia’s war with Ukraine has threatened
global peace and fosters nuclear proliferation. The explicit and implied
assurances embedded in the Budapest
Memorandum, which he bemoaned were never legalized, were to send a message
to all countries hoping to acquire nuclear weapons that there is another option
embodied in a sovereign, democratic and prosperous Ukraine integrated in the
European and Euro-Atlantic structures and living in peace with its neighbors.
“That positive picture, that message and our vision of
global security have been crushed almost overnight by the Russian aggression against Ukraine and its occupation of Crimea,”
he said. “The Budapest Memorandum has been blatantly discarded by the country
which pledged to refrain from the threat or use of force against the
territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine.”
Klimkin explained correctly that some countries and their
governments could see that Russia’s occupation of a part of Ukrainian territory
and a de facto military aggression by Russia against Ukraine as evidence that
international legal instruments are insufficient to ensure territorial
integrity and inviolability of state borders. Consequently, they could resolve
to develop their own nuclear weapons program in defense against a real or
perceived enemy.
This is a “tremendous
challenge” to the international nuclear security system based on the NPT, the
five permanent members of the UN Security Council and the IAEA, he said.
Klimkin noted that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has
given rise to voices within Ukraine to resume
production of nuclear weapons “as the only means to protect ourselves from
any outside aggression.”
“But from the Ukrainian government’s standpoint, this option is not on the table. Hereby
we confirm that Ukraine considers the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons as a cornerstone of the
global non-proliferation regime and an essential basis for achieving the objectives
of nuclear disarmament,” Klimkin vowed.
As a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the foreign
minister said, within a year Moscow has turned the Crimean peninsula from a flourishing seaside resort into an
economically depressed region with a modern military base ready for the deployment of nuclear weapons.
“The violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity by Russia impedes the implementation of the International Atomic
Energy Agency safeguards. Russia seized Ukraine’s nuclear facilities,
installations and materials located on the temporarily occupied Ukraine’s
Crimea, in particular the Sevastopol National University of Nuclear Energy and
Industry, in contradiction to the Agency Statute.
“Russian-backed militants and Russian regular troops made life of industrial Donbas region of Ukraine
a nightmare. Since Minsk agreement was reached we witness constant violations
of the ceasefire by the Russian-backed militants in the East of Ukraine. In
such situation Ukraine is deeply concerned over the nuclear safety of the
facilities located in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and
Luhansk regions of Ukraine.
“In this respect, we are looking forward to prompt restoration of Ukrainian control
in these regions in accordance with Minsk agreements,” Klimkin said in the
hallowed halls of the United Nations.
Klimkin recalled the 70th anniversary of the nuclear
destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this year, adding that Ukraine is suffering
“from aggression by nuclear state Russia. I would also like to use this forum
to invoke Russia to stop aggression
and liberate Ukrainian territories, illegally occupied throughout 2014.”
Klimkin places sole hope on preserving the global nuclear security
system squarely on the international community, which “must recognize that
Ukraine is the starting point indicating whether NPT regime is or is not
capable to stop proliferation of nuclear weapons. Until territorial integrity
of Ukraine is restored and the Crimea is liberated we cannot discuss ‘business
as usual’ within the NPT.
“We strongly believe that those challenges should find their
rightful reflection in the final document of this Conference wherein the UN
General Assembly Resolution ‘Territorial Integrity of Ukraine’ is fully
considered,” he said.
The basis of nuclear disarmament and security is building confidence in countries sharing
borders with nuclear powers that their weapons and the intention to use them
will remain under lock and key. With its war against Ukraine, Russia has shattered the confidence not
only of Ukraine but of all former captive nations that are consequently quickly
rebuilding their conventional military strength to withstand Russia’s
aggression against them.
In order to return the global community of independent
states to a shared course toward peace, stability and security, the
international community, NATO and the UN must join with Ukraine in forcing the expulsion of Russia from Ukraine. Russia’s
secure seat on the UN Security Council must also be questioned. Anything short
of that will contribute to rising
tensions, instability, comprehensive rearmament
and militarization, and continuing global armed conflagrations.
