Did Ukraine “own” its nuclear weapons?

Professor Stephen Kotkin, in reply to our last piece:

“Ukraine did not give up ‘its’ nuclear weapons. Ukraine had no such weapons. Russia had nuclear weapons on Ukrainian soil. Ukraine gave up Russia’s ability to fire nuclear weapons from the territory of Ukraine. Command and control was always in Moscow.”

This was too juicy an assertion to ignore.

From further looking into it, here, at Listening to the Other Side, are our findings…

Did Ukraine “own” its nuclear weapons? In the early 1990s, Ukraine had the world’s third largest nuclear stockpile. But its nuclear inheritance is contested. Can you “own” something you can’t use?

And tweet from Sang-Hwa, the author: https://x.com/sanghwa_m_lee/status/1844362347336344023

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Reading pieces from 31 years ago can give one greater sympathy for the position Ukraine finds itself in today.

“[President] Kravchuk has repeatedly said he intends to fulfill the Lisbon pledges eventually but that he wants the West to take greater account of Ukraine’s geopolitical vulnerability and its need for money to dismantle its nuclear legacy.”

It’s also notable that Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine’s second President (from 1994) had actually run a factory producing missiles (one of the world’s largest rocket and missile facilities during the Soviet era) in his earlier career.

Enjoy the piece. And if you are a young writer who too feels willing (and capable) of sparring with renowned Stanford professors, please email me. We want more such valiant geopolitical talent to grow what we’re doing.