Ukrainian officials are calling for “real and robust” security guarantees from the United States and European allies, whenever the war ends. They mainly cite the failure of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum to protect the country from Russian aggression.
The memorandum, signed by leaders of the United States, United Kingdom, Russia and Ukraine, was intended to provide security assurances in exchange for Ukraine’s commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the transfer of its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal to Russia. However, Ukrainian officials said that the document lacked enforceable guarantees and failed to prevent Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its full-scale invasion in 2022.
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“The name, the Budapest Memorandum, has become synonymous with a failed document or a failed security guarantee,” said Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry. “Even the word ‘guarantees’ is not there. There are only security assurances.”
Tykhyi said Ukraine’s past experience has made officials highly sensitive to the language used in international agreements. He emphasized that future negotiations must include binding commitments, not vague promises.
“Ukraine needs real security guarantees, which are robust, effective and working,” he said. “We do not need Budapest number two.”
Ukraine’s leadership has reiterated this stance in recent meetings with Western partners, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington, D.C. Tykhyi said the country is no longer just seeking protection, it is actively contributing to European security.
“This is a two-way street,” he said. “Ukraine is providing a lot of security to Europe. We are holding back NATO’s primary adversary, aggressive Russia. Our own army is our main security guarantee.”
A city at the heart of the war effort
Lviv, located in western Ukraine and home to more than 700,000 people, has become a hub for displaced civilians and volunteers responding to the humanitarian impact of the war. It also serves as a backdrop for Operation Interflex, a U.K.-led initiative that provides leadership training to Ukrainian soldiers.
As Ukraine continues to fight for its sovereignty, officials say that the decisions made in the 1990s still shape the country’s approach to international security and its demand for lasting, enforceable protections.
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