Ukraine has officially rejected any security guarantees that serve as alternatives to full NATO membership, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued on the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum.
On December 5, 2024, Ukraine commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum, a document meant to ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in exchange for relinquishing the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal.
The Memorandum, signed in 1994 by the United States, United Kingdom, and Russia, was to become a significant step in strengthening global nuclear disarmament and serve as an example for other states to give up nuclear weapons.
However, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called it a failure, pointing to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale invasion in 2022 as evidence of its collapse.
“Russia’s violation of the Budapest Memorandum set a dangerous precedent that undermined confidence in the very idea of nuclear disarmament,” the statement read.
The ministry underscored that the absence of real security guarantees in the 1990s was a “strategic mistake” that emboldened Moscow.
It urged the US, UK, France, China, and other signatories to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to provide Ukraine with binding security guarantees.
“We are convinced that the only real guarantee of security for Ukraine, as well as a deterrent to further Russian aggression against Ukraine and other states, is Ukraine’s full membership in NATO,” the statement emphasized.
“With the bitter experience of the Budapest Memorandum behind us, we will not accept any alternatives, surrogates or substitutes for Ukraine’s full membership in NATO,” the Ukrainian MFA stated.
The statement also called Ukraine’s NATO membership the only effective deterrent to future Russian aggression.
“Inviting Ukraine to join NATO now will become an effective counter to Russian blackmail and will deprive the Kremlin of its illusions about the possibility of hindering Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration.”
“It is also the only chance to stop the erosion of key principles of nuclear non-proliferation and restore confidence in nuclear disarmament.
The 30th anniversary of the signing of the Budapest Memorandum is an opportunity to take an effective step towards Ukraine’s accession to the Washington Treaty,” the statement concludes.
Earlier, Virgin Group co-founder Richard Branson, warned of the far-reaching global consequences of Russia’s violation of the Budapest Memorandum, arguing that Russia’s actions not only destabilize Ukraine but also weaken global disarmament efforts and erode trust in multilateral diplomacy.
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