1994 Budapest Memorandum

25 years ago, on December 5, 1994, in Budapest, the leaders of Ukraine, the United States, Russia and Great Britain signed a memorandum guaranteeing the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine in exchange for its renunciation of nuclear weapons and their removal from Ukrainian territory. France and China, the other two nuclear powers, gave similar assurances in the form of oral statements from their leaders, but did not sign the memorandum.

Similar memorandums were signed by Britain, the US and Russia on the same day with Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The three guarantor states confirmed that they would "respect the independence, sovereignty and existing borders of Ukraine" and "refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine" and that none of their weapons "will ever be used against Ukraine, except in self-defence or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations."

Also, the United States, Britain and Russia reaffirmed "their obligation to seek immediate action by the UN Security Council to provide assistance to Ukraine as a state party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons that does not possess nuclear weapons, if Ukraine becomes a victim of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression using nuclear weapons." weapons."

After the annexation of Crimea and the beginning of Russian aggression in the Donbass, Britain, the United States, Ukraine stated that Russia had grossly violated the terms of the Budapest Memorandum, while Moscow denied this.

The memorandum did not provide for any military assistance in the event that Ukraine was subjected to aggression without the use of nuclear weapons. The US, Britain and their allies limited themselves to economic and visa sanctions against Russia.