Michelle Webb (She/Her)

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine suddenly found itself in possession of the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal—about 1,900 strategic warheads and 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles. However, Ukraine did not have operational control over these weapons. The launch codes and command infrastructure remained under Russian control, meaning Ukraine couldn’t actually use the weapons independently. This lack of control was a key factor in the negotiations that led to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security assurances from Russia, the U.S., and the U.K. These assurances included respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The warheads were eventually transferred to Russia, and Ukraine received compensation and dismantlement aid in return. So while Ukraine physically hosted the weapons, it never had the ability to launch or command them - Russia retained that authority from the start.