Even if the memorandum were to be revoked, Ukraine would continue to be bound by the ban due to the treaty. Only the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which Ukraine signed in 1994 following the Budapest Memorandum, prohibits the proliferation of radioactive, weapons-grade material. The Budapest Memorandum, for example, does not even prohibit Kyiv from seeking nuclear weapons again. Such a withdrawal, however, would be relatively inconsequential. Since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 violated Ukrainian sovereignty, Zelenskyy hinted in Munich that he would withdraw from the agreement. However, the treaty does not contain concrete security guarantees - contrary to what Zelenskyy claimed during his Munich speech in early 2022. In exchange, Ukraine handed over its nuclear weapons inherited from the Soviet Union to Russia or partially destroyed them. In it, Zelenskyy mentions the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which ensures that the sovereignty and national borders of Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan are respected vis-à-vis the signatory states that include the US, UK and Russia. Putin is likely referring to a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Munich Security Conference last February. The NATO bloc has begun active military development of the territories bordering us,' Putin said in his speech.ĭW Fact Check: False. Ukrainian nuclear weapons?Ĭlaim: 'In Kyiv, they announced a possible acquisition of nuclear weapons. DW Fact Check examines some of the key statements from Putin's speech on May 9. On the occasion of the annual military parade on Moscow's Red Square, Russian President Vladimir Putin leveled serious allegations against Ukraine and the West.

Russia victory day parade 2021