The Budapest Memorandum is a treaty signed on December 5, 1994, between Ukraine, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It guaranteed Ukraine's security in exchange for giving up the nuclear weapons it inherited after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The document was the result of prolonged negotiations over the Soviet nuclear arsenal that remained on Ukrainian territory. Although it was one of the largest in the world, Ukraine could not use it since the launch codes were controlled by Russia. Maintaining these weapons required significant resources, and nuclear facilities could become targets in the event of war or terrorist attacks. The negotiations aimed to transfer the weapons to Russia under international security guarantees.
