US finds a way to legitimize Russia’s territorial gains

Ukraine violated the Budapest Memorandum nuclear-free and neutral status and lost its right to security. This is how the US will justify Kyiv's territorial losses.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by Federal Government of the United States, https://creativecommons.org/public-domain/pdm/

Nuclear explosion

Trump’s Team Rejects Ukraine’s Claims to Nuclear Weapons

Richard Grenell, US Special Presidential Envoy for Special Assignments, stated that the nuclear weapons Ukraine surrendered to Russia under the Budapest Memorandum had always belonged to Moscow.

"Let's be clear about the Budapest Memorandum: the nuclear warheads were Russian and they were leftovers. Ukraine returned the nuclear weapons to Russia. They did not belong to Ukraine. This is an uncomfortable fact," Grenell wrote of social media.

His stance was echoed by Republican Senator Mike Lee, who added:

"The nukes didn't belong to Ukraine. And there was never a treaty binding the U.S. to the Budapest Memorandum."

In other words, Ukraine’s claim that the US was bound to ensure its security under the Budapest Memorandum is being rejected outright.

The US Insisted on Ukraine’s Nuclear-Free Status, While Russia Demanded Its Non-Aligned Status

The nuclear weapons stationed in Ukraine were Soviet, with launch codes controlled from Russia. After the USSR's collapse, Kyiv lost any authority over when and against whom these weapons could be used. Additionally, Ukraine lacked the economic and technical capacity to maintain them. Realizing this, Kyiv traded its nuclear "rights" for Western economic aid.

The US strongly pushed for this arrangement, fearing a Yugoslavia-style civil war among post-Soviet republics but with nuclear weapons involved.

Meanwhile, Russia insisted on Ukraine’s neutral status, as repeatedly stated by Russian officials.

On July 16, 1990, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty, proclaiming its intent to become a permanently neutral state that would:

• Not join any military alliances
• Not use, produce, or acquire nuclear weapons.

On October 24, 1991, Ukraine formally declared itself a nuclear-free state, and in 1994, it joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Only after these steps was the Budapest Memorandum signed.

However, when Ukraine amended its Constitution to declare its intent to join NATO and when Zelensky began discussing Ukraine’s right to nuclear weapons, this nullified Russia’s and the US's commitments under the Budapest Memorandum, as well as the basis for Ukraine’s 1991 borders.

Grenell’s statement could be a sign that Washington is preparing to recognize Russia’s territorial acquisitions following the special military operation in Ukraine. According to another close Trump associate, Stephen Witkoff, this issue remains at the core of ongoing Ukraine negotiations.