U.S. Not Considering Nuclear Arms for Ukraine

1 December, 2024 American B61-12 nuclear bomb. Illustration: YUKIKAZE Studio Joe Biden's administration is not considering providing Ukraine with nuclear weapons.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated this for ABC News. Sullivan also denied a report suggesting that the administration is open to returning nuclear weapons to Ukraine. "That is not under consideration.

No. What we are doing is surging various conventional capacities to Ukraine so that they can effectively defend themselves and take the fight to the Russians, not nuclear capability," Sullivan stated. The day before, several global media outlets claimed that Ukraine was planning to develop its own nuclear weapons.

Photo credits: U.S. media

In October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied such statements by the German tabloid Bild. In November, Ukrainian diplomats denied a similar statement by the British newspaper The Times. At the same time, Ukraine's military and Security Service of Ukraine officers recently attended a training course in the United States on collecting debris for nuclear forensics, due to nuclear threats by Russia.

Nuclear weapons of Ukraine

On December 5, 1994, the Budapest Memorandum was signed.

According to the document, the signatory countries--the United Kingdom, Russia, and the United States--pledged to be guarantors of Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and borders, and refrained from using any weapons against Ukraine, not just nuclear weapons. In exchange, Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons.