What comes to mind when you think of Ukraine today? Crimea's entry into Russia, the civil war in Eastern Ukraine... Today, Ukraine is in fact the poorest country in Europe, and is also in a state of fragmentation and political instability. Ukraine's poor economic situation has led some Ukrainian women to start earning money by selling their bodies. Today's Ukraine has earned titles such as "Europe's leading red light district", "paradise for commercial surrogacy industry", and "European womb". Buses and subways in Ukraine are full of advertisements for surrogate mothers.
Today's Ukraine is not a great power in terms of economic strength, military strength, and international influence. Today, Ukraine is not a powerful country, but a divided and turbulent country. However, when the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine inherited a family of all the republics second only to Russia. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine was the second largest economy out of 15 republics after Russia. The industrial enterprises left to Ukraine by the Soviet Union at that time involved more than 300 industries.
These include four large nuclear power plants, six hydroelectric plants, the Donetsk coal mine, 43 oil fields, 114 natural gas fields, and so on. Ukraine, like Russia, is a major resource country: at present, Ukraine has proven more than 80 kinds of rich minerals for exploitation, such as coal, iron, manganese, nickel, titanium, mercury, graphite, refractory soil, stone, etc. These mineral resources are distributed in more than 7,000 regions of the country (more than 4,000 of which have been developed). Ukraine has proven iron ore reserves of 27.5 billion tons; manganese ore reserves of more than 2.1 billion tons; coal, dye ore, ceramic wax and graphite reserves are also relatively rich.
Ukraine's largest Donbass coal mine has proven reserves of 109 billion tonnes. Ukraine, which owns 3/4 of the world's black land, has the reputation of "The Granary of Europe" in the Soviet era, and after independence, Ukraine was the world's third largest grain exporter. Militarily, Ukraine inherits nearly 35 percent of the Soviet Union's possessions: 3,594 military-industrial enterprises are involved in a variety of equipment such as rockets, large transport aircraft, military ships, armored vehicles, etc. Among them are internationally renowned military enterprises such as The Antonov Design Bureau, the Southern Machinery Factory, and the Black Sea Shipyard.
At the beginning of independence, Ukraine had an active armed force of 780,000 people, 6,500 tanks of various types, 7,150 armored vehicles of various types, 1,500 fixed-wing military aircraft, and 350 large and small warships. In addition to these conventional military forces mentioned above, Ukraine also inherited a considerable number of nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union. The Soviet-era nuclear arsenal is varied, diverse, and numerous. According to the intelligence held by the United States, the strategic and tactical nuclear warheads of the Soviet Union in its heyday were more than 27,000 (of which at least 11,000 were strategic nuclear warheads).
Although the United States was the first country to invent atomic and hydrogen bombs, the Soviet Union was the first country in the world to successfully weaponize hydrogen bombs. In 1961, the Soviet Union successfully detonated the 50 million-ton "Tsar Bomb" – the most powerful explosive in human history to date. During the Brezhnev era, the Soviet Union once surpassed the United States in nuclear weapons. On October 26, 1991, the Soviet government announced a moratorium on nuclear testing. So far, the Soviet Union has conducted 715 nuclear tests. Soviet ballistic missiles had a range of 11,000 kilometers.
The Soviet Union's nuclear arsenal was not only enormous, but also extremely extensive: 80 percent of it was deployed in Russia, the largest republic of the Soviet Union, and another 20 percent in Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. The Soviet Union had 16 fixed strategic missile launch sites: 12 in Russia, 2 in Kazakhstan and 2 in Ukraine. In addition, the Soviet Union had 12 mobile ICB Missile launch bases: 10 in Russia and 2 in Belarus. At the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, troops and weapons and equipment were distributed according to the principles of nationality and territoriality.
To put it bluntly, it is whoever is there. The four Soviet-era republics of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, all received a share of nuclear weapons after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Of course, Russia's share of inheritance is naturally the largest, and Ukraine's inherited nuclear weapons are second only to Russia in quality and quantity: 1270 nuclear warheads and 2480 tactical nuclear weapons make Ukraine the world's third nuclear power after the United States and Russia. In addition, Ukraine has Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear cruise missiles.
Ukraine at the time had the capability to manufacture and produce intercontinental ballistic missiles, with a trinity of nuclear strike capabilities. At that time, Ukraine was such a country with abundant natural resources, a strong heavy industrial base, and a nuclear superiority second only to the United States and Russia. At the time, many people thought that Ukraine would develop into a balancing role between Russia and the West. Although it is impossible to compare with such a big country as the United States and Russia, it can at least become a regional power. However, after independence, Ukraine gradually destroyed the huge nuclear arsenal inherited from the Soviet Union.
On October 30, 2001, the Ukrainian military declared Ukraine officially a non-nuclear state after destroying the silo of the last solid-fuel-powered SS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile in its territory. In fact, ukraine gave up more than nuclear weapons after independence: the predecessor of the continental Liaoning was the Varyag imported from Ukraine. The Black Sea shipyard in Ukraine at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union was building two aircraft carriers, Varyag and Ulyanovsk: at that time Varyag was 68 percent complete and Ulyanovsk was 30 percent complete.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the two aircraft carriers were inherited by Ukraine. If Ukraine continues to build these two aircraft carriers, won't it become a country with aircraft carriers? The Kovalag was later purchased by the mainland to become the current Liaoning, while the Ulyanovsk was dismembered on the ship's platform by two leather bag companies under the slightest trick of the Americans. In addition to abandoning its nuclear weapons and aircraft carriers, Ukraine has destroyed 11 Tu-160 bombers. Ukraine's self-deprecating behavior may seem foolish, but in fact it is a helpless act of last resort.
On the surface, Ukraine's inherited weapons and equipment from the Soviet Union cannot be described as advanced, but in fact, the suffering is only known to Ukraine itself. Ukraine's self-abolition of martial arts has two main problems in terms of its internal reasons: it cannot be built and cannot be raised. Makarov, the director of the Black Sea Shipyard, once said of the reason why Ukraine abandoned the aircraft carrier: "Only a great power can build it, but this power no longer exists." The Soviet-era military-industrial system was distributed in the republics: some were responsible for providing raw materials, some were responsible for producing parts, and some were responsible for assembly.
During the Soviet era, the Black Sea shipyards in Ukraine could cooperate with supporting enterprises in Russia, which were also Soviet republics, but with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the military production system of the republics was torn apart. After losing the support of shipyards in the Russian region such as the Baltic Shipyard, the Black Sea Shipyard quickly declined to the point where it basically lost the ability to manufacture slightly larger ships. Ukraine's nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers, and bombers were inherited from the Soviet Union, but Ukraine itself did not have the ability to produce these advanced weapons.
In fact, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other former Soviet republics have generally seen the phenomenon of self-abolition: the nine aircraft carriers built in the Soviet era, except for two inherited by Ukraine, are mostly inherited by Russia, but Russia eventually retained only the "Kuznetsov". After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia also made reductions in strategic nuclear weapons. Since even Russia had to abolish martial arts after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is even more unrealistic for Ukraine to retain its inheritance from the Soviet Union.
Although Ukraine inherited a large number of seemingly advanced weapons from the Soviet Union, Ukraine failed to inherit the huge and complex military industrial system of the Soviet Union. It is true that Ukraine inherited some quite good military enterprises from the Soviet Union when it became independent, but once these enterprises left the complete industrial system chain of the Soviet Union and the support of central financial funds, they were nothing. Not only was Ukraine unable to build newer weapons, but it was also unable to maintain weapons inherited from the Soviet Union. One of the reasons why Russia abolished martial arts was that the poor economic situation after the collapse of the Soviet Union could no longer afford to raise so many advanced weapons.
It wasn't just Russia that faced economic difficulties after the collapse of the Soviet Union – in fact, Ukraine's economic situation was even worse than Russia's. This situation is extremely embarrassing for Ukraine: it has ostensibly inherited a large number of advanced weapons from the Soviet Union, but in fact Ukraine itself has no technical ability to continue to produce and develop, and it lacks sufficient funds to maintain these advanced weapons. These iron lumps in Ukraine's hands cannot be eaten when there is no war. The pain is known only to ukrainians themselves.
Ukraine's status as a military power at the beginning of independence was achieved entirely by inheriting soviet weapons and equipment, but Ukraine's own military industrial system simply did not have the conditions to become a military power. This effectively meant that Ukraine's so-called military power status was simply impossible to maintain as the weapons and equipment inherited from the Soviet Union grew older. Ukraine's self-abolition of martial arts was not that the head of the Ukrainian leader was broken, but that the objective environment at that time doomed Ukraine's military strength beyond its own conditions to be unsustainable.
If we think that the Ukrainian leader inexplicably abolished martial arts because his head was broken, then how can we explain the self-abolition of martial arts by Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union? Could it be that the leaders of these countries all had their heads broken at the same time? On the contrary, the people who can sit in their positions are far smarter than we are, except that they are more focused on the real dilemma. It would have been difficult for the then Ukrainian leaders to envision the situation they are today.
On the one hand, Ukraine's self-abolition of martial arts was due to its own industrial system and economic strength were no longer enough to support a huge arsenal of weapons, on the other hand, the international situation at that time also determined that Ukraine's status as a military power could not be sustained. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus and Kazakhstan also inherited a certain number of nuclear weapons, but in the end, both countries, like Ukraine, renounced nuclear weapons and joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. These former Soviet republics have been in the midst of geopolitical power rivalry between Russia and the Western countries led by the United States since the day of their independence.
Neither Russia nor the West wants too many countries to possess nuclear weapons, so both Russia and the West have adopted a soft and hard foreign policy towards these countries. Both the United States and Russia want to destroy nuclear weapons in the hands of countries such as Ukraine and the Tu-160 strategic bomber that can carry nuclear cruise missiles. On the one hand, Ukraine is trapped in the domestic situation and can no longer maintain its huge arsenal, on the other hand, the United States, Russia and other countries continue to exert diplomatic pressure on Ukraine. It is against this background that Ukraine's self-abolition of martial arts has taken place.
One might argue that since impoverished Ukraine is unable to maintain a vast arsenal of weapons, why destroy its own advanced weapons in vain? Wouldn't selling these weapons give you the money to develop new equipment? First of all, the nuclear bomb is not for sale in any country. Ukraine is so poor that it can no longer open the pot and dare not sell this thing. After all, if you sell this thing to others, you will be used against yourself one day. As for the Tu-160 strategic bomber, which can carry nuclear cruise missiles, it can be sold.
In fact, the United States has long been hungry for the Tu-160, and has also tried to spend money to buy from Ukraine. The problem is that Russia can't agree to this. The Tu-160 strategic bomber, which can carry nuclear cruise missiles, is the killer of Soviet weapons. Once this thing is obtained by the Americans, it will greatly weaken Russia's strategic advantage. On the other hand, if Russia wants to buy this thing from Ukraine, then the United States cannot agree to the designation. Moreover, the economic situation in Russia during the period after the collapse of the Soviet Union could not be bought.
Neither the United States nor Russia wants the Tu-160 trump card to fall into each other's hands. Since you can't get it anyway, it's better to simply destroy it. The result of the U.S.-Russian game was a consensus that Ukraine's nuclear bomb and Tu-160 must be destroyed. Russia and the United States sang red faces and white faces: First, Russia came forward to demand that all CIS countries, including Ukraine, take the nuclear-headed heritage to Russia for unified safekeeping. At this time, although Ukraine felt that it could no longer afford to supply these weapons, it was unwilling to hand them over for free.
To put it bluntly, Ukraine itself intends to give up, but it still wants to use these weapons to finally extort money from the United States and Russia. Ukraine offered to give itself up its nuclear weapons for money. At that time, Russia itself had to abolish its own martial arts because of lack of money, so the money returned to you Ukraine. In the end, the United States had to stand up and join Russia in promising Ukraine economic assistance and security protection. Ukraine thought that these iron lumps were a money-burning commodity at home anyway, so after receiving promises from the United States and Russia, they agreed to destroy them.
Ukraine's self-abolition of martial arts was more of a helpless act if considered in the objective environment at that time. Ukraine's nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers, and bombers look quite intimidating, but in fact, Ukraine itself has not maintained such a large arsenal of weapons. These large-scale weapons can only play their role in the hands of the real military powers such as the United States, China, and Russia, and it is sometimes a misfortune rather than a blessing for a small country to hold such a bunch of large-scale weapons. Ukraine abandoned its nuclear weapons by a $1.5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund and $700 million from the World Bank.
Under the objective circumstances at that time, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other countries were forced to abandon their martial arts to a greater or lesser extent due to reality. But Russia has a strong family after all, so even after the reduction, it is still the world's second nuclear power. Russia is an unquestionable military power even if it abolishes martial arts, but Ukraine's self-abolition of martial arts is completely different. Ukraine is already at the forefront of the geopolitical game between Russia and the United States and other Western countries. Such a geographical location dooms Ukraine to become a bargaining chip for both sides.
Ukraine must carefully maintain a balance in the geopolitical game between the United States and Russia after the abolition of martial arts, because no matter which side it offends, Ukraine cannot afford it. Unfortunately, Ukraine has not been able to balance the strategy diplomatically: Ukraine's third president, Yushchenko, came to power without hesitation to disclose his political intentions to turn to Europe and the United States. After the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004, Russia and Western countries led by the United States began to actively intervene in Ukraine's domestic politics. Ukraine relied on nuclear warheads and bombers in exchange for a large number of dollars and loans, but achieved little.
After so many years, Ukraine's military strength and economic livelihood have not changed much. The interference of external powers has left the political situation in Ukraine in chaos, which in turn affects the development of the Ukrainian economy. In this process, the national problems in Ukraine are also intertwined. At the end of November 2013, after the escalation of contradictions, large-scale conflicts between pro-Russian and pro-Western forces in Ukraine finally broke out. On March 16, 2014, the Crimean region held a referendum to announce its membership in the Russian Federation.
On May 11 of the same year, the donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in eastern Ukraine held a referendum to declare the establishment of a "People's Republic". By this point Ukraine was effectively divided. The civil war conflict destroyed the heavy industrial base in the eastern part of Ukraine, making the development of the Ukrainian economy more difficult, and the living standards of the Ukrainian people were declining, which in turn further exacerbated the backlog of contradictions in Ukraine. Political turmoil and economic decline thus form a vicious circle under the influence of each other.