As we all know, the Soviet Union was once a nuclear power, and although its nuclear weapons started later than the United States, the speed of development was quite fast, and the number of nuclear bombs was basically the same as that of the United States in the later period, mainly Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
75 per cent of ICBMs are deployed in Russia, 25 per cent in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and Belarus has mobile ICBM missiles.
In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, and countries inherited the Legacy of the Soviet Union according to their armies and countries where nuclear weapons were located. As a result, Ukraine integrated more than 1,500 nuclear missiles, becoming the third largest nuclear power after the United States and Russia.
However, it is difficult to shoulder big responsibilities on small shoulders, Ukraine is a small country, its strength is limited, and if it is mismanaged, causing nuclear weapons to fall into the hands of outlaws, it will pose a major threat to the world.
So the United States, the only superpower at that time, took the lead in exerting pressure on Ukraine in an attempt to eliminate the nuclear weapons of Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other countries, which was also the intention of Russia.
In 1991, the United States and Russia agreed that Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine would eliminate all nuclear weapons by the end of the 20th century.
Ukraine also promised to ship hundreds of tactical nuclear weapons in its territory to Russia for destruction by July 1992, and strategic nuclear weapons to Russia by 1994 for destruction.
However, nuclear weapons are such a national heavy weapon, who is willing to let go easily.
In 1992, Russia-Ukraine relations were tense, and Ukraine did not believe that Russia could consciously eliminate nuclear weapons, but it could not withstand the continuous pressure of Western countries, and finally resumed the delivery of nuclear weapons.
The mood is mainly insecurity, and there is always a fear that the Russians will make a comeback. Because of the collapse of the Soviet Union at that time, the Russian economy withered, and "Great Russianism" flourished.
Some people are extremely nationalist, believing that Ukraine and Belarus are part of the "Russian world" and that their independence amounts to betrayal.
Therefore, Ukraine does not want to lose the "king bomb" in its hands, and with nuclear self-respect, it can also blackmail the United States into providing more assistance. Western intelligence agencies have reported that Ukraine has tried to impose "operational control" over its nuclear weapons.
Ukraine's hesitation made Russia a little panicked. Since 1993, Russian-Soviet relations have been extremely tense and resentful. Ukraine became what Russia saw as "rather disobedient little brother."
In fact, for Ukraine's nuclear possession, Russia feels that the other side is "empty gloves and white wolves". These things, which Russia had worked so hard to study, were taken over by Ukraine.
At the same time, if Ukraine targets its missiles at Russia, the consequences will be unimaginable. So Russia "hit the snake seven inches" and directly cut off the oil and gas.
You know, Ukraine, a big agricultural country, is the largest black land in the world, but it lacks energy. Without oil and gas, winter is simply not possible.
At the same time as Russia is exerting pressure, the United States is also hollowing out its mind.
The United States does not care about Ukraine, only the nuclear weapons in its hands, and if these nuclear weapons are controlled by anti-American forces, the consequences will be unimaginable.
As a result, the US Government has repeatedly stated that "until Ukraine's promise to become a non-nuclear state is fulfilled, its relations with the United States in other fields cannot be established," and has also threatened to terminate economic assistance to Ukraine.
But the "high pressure" of the United States did not work, but it backfired, and Ukraine's nuclear possession was once again on the rise, declaring that "we are not willing to give up nuclear weapons to win applause and then be forgotten." ”
So the United States quickly changed its attitude. In May 1993, the U.S. envoy Talbo visited Kiev and wanted to establish a "partnership" with Ukraine.
In June of the same year, US Defense Secretary Aspin came to Ukraine for "defense cooperation", which will help Ukraine solve the "worries" of neighboring Russia.
Under the soft and hard foreign policy of the United States, in 1994, the United States, Russia and Ukraine signed the Tripartite Agreement on the Elimination of All Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine in Moscow.
Under the agreement, which requires Ukraine to ship nuclear weapons to Russia for destruction within 7 years, the United States will provide $175 million in compensation and $155 million in economic assistance, and commits to providing security assurances to Ukraine.
Ukraine also eventually decided to become a non-nuclear state, and the reason is not just the threat of Russia and the soft and hard bubble of the United States.
At that time, Ukraine's strategic nuclear warheads had fallen into a "state of extreme technical danger", and many nuclear warheads had hydrogen accumulation and the danger index was increasing.
If Ukraine dismantled its own nuclear warheads, it would not only lack funds but also technology, and nuclear weapons would no longer be "king bombs" at that time.
At the same time, at that time, the Ukrainian economy had been in a state of stagnation and even collapse, and if you wanted to hold nuclear weapons, the maintenance costs and maintenance costs were a heavy burden.
If Ukraine surrenders its nuclear weapons, the United States will extract the raw uranium material from the nuclear warhead, and with American companies refining commercial uranium, Ukraine is estimated to receive $1 billion.
Russia has also offered attractive terms to provide a certain percentage of Ukraine's debt relief and to provide Ukraine with oil and gas at very favorable prices.
Although Ukraine ultimately decided to denuclearize, there was a hidden concern in his heart, and President Kuchma said:
"If Russia enters Crimea tomorrow, no one will frown. ...... No one plans to give Ukraine any guarantees. ”
In a word, it now seems that Kuchma's premonition has become a reality. Ukraine, on the other hand, is still enthusiastically engaged in the destruction work.
On June 1, 1996, Ukrainian President Kuchma announced that all nuclear warheads had been shipped out of Ukraine. In October 2001, Ukraine destroyed the last intercontinental missile silo.
At this point, Ukraine was completely denuclearized.
Time passed, and in 2014, when Russian troops quickly sent troops to "retake" the Crimean Peninsula, Kuchma's concerns became a reality. Ukraine called on the United States to fulfill its duties, and the United States played word games.
When the United States signed the treaty, it promised Ukraine "security assurance" rather than "security guarantee", and "guarantee" did not necessarily have to provide military support.
Ukraine was "sold".
Therefore, it is said that striking iron still depends on its own hardness, and it is not advisable to blindly rely on other countries.