Ukraine once claimed 3rd largest nuclear arsenal in the world; Know why Kyiv gave it up

As Russia opens an intensive military offensive on Ukraine, some of the bombers firing missiles at the erstwhile Soviet territory are believed to have briefly been a part of Kyiv's military, a report has revealed.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine had the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world, along with Belarus and Kazakhstan, which were left with the custody of nuclear weapons, a report in The Week revealed. Interestingly, Ukraine had even more Tu-160 bombers than Russia at the time. Here's the lesser-known story behind Ukraine's military prowess in Soviet Era and why it gave up its arsenal. 

According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Ukraine had approximately 3,000 tactical nuclear weapons (meant to hit large military facilities, naval fleets and armoured formations), and 2,000 strategic nuclear weapons, (meant to destroy cities). 

"The strategic weapons were mounted on 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles such as the SS-19 and SS-24. Ukraine also had around 1,000 air-launched cruise missiles that could be fired from a fleet of around 25 Tu-95 MS and 19 Tu-160 bombers, both of which have intercontinental range. It also had at least 20 Tu-22M and 60 older Tu-22 bombers, which were medium-range aircraft," the report said.

Why did Ukraine give up its military arsenal?

The primary reason behind Ukraine's demilitarisation was its economic condition which made it hard to maintain such a large arsenal. Moreover, Russia had left behind most of the nuclear bombs in Ukraine with caveats, retaining the authority over the centralised firing controls of these weapons. 

In the mid-1990s, the transfer of nuclear material and bombers to Russia was seen as a 'barter' mechanism to pay for supply of Russian oil and gas, the report mentioned.

There was another wedge in the equation. Concerns emerged in the minds of the West and the US over the presence of nuclear weapons with another economically weak state. In 1994, Ukraine was persuaded to sign an agreement called the Budapest Memorandum with Russia, the UK and the US after extensive negotiations, agreeing to dismantle its arsenal of nuclear weapons and delivery systems (bombers and missiles), with financial assistance by the West.

In exchange, Russia, US and UK agreed to refrain from threatening Russia and respect its “independence and sovereignty and the existing borders”. The US is estimated to have paid Ukraine around half a billion US dollars to dispose off its nuclear arsenal. 

Over the course of the next few years, many of the warheads and delivery systems were dismantled, while several bombers, including eight Tu-160s, were transferred to Russia. By July 1996, Ukraine transferred the last of the nuclear warheads on its territory to Russia. Another 11 heavy bombers and 582 strategic cruise missiles were handed over in 1999 as payment for natural gas debts and by May 2001, the last Ukraine bomber aircraft was disassembled.