Trump's Special Envoy Grenell claims nuclear weapons in Ukraine after USSR collapse belonged to Russia

US President Donald Trump's presidential Envoy for Special Missions Richard Grenell has stated that the nuclear weapons that remained on Ukrainian territory after the collapse of the USSR belonged to Russia and claimed this to be an "uncomfortable fact".

Source: Grenell on X (Twitter)

Quote from Grenell: "Let's be clear about the Budapest Memorandum: the nukes were Russia's and were leftovers. Ukraine gave the nukes back to Russia. They weren't Ukraine's. This is an uncomfortable fact."

Details: Steven Pifer, former US ambassador to Ukraine and nuclear weapons expert, responded by stating that Grenell is "flat wrong".

Quote from Pifer: "I helped negotiate Budapest Memorandum. Grenell is flat wrong. Nuclear warheads in Ukraine were ex-Soviet, not Russian. Warheads in storage were in sole Ukrainian custody. ICBMs [intercontinental ballistic missiles] and bombers were eliminated in Ukraine except small number sent to Russia for debt relief."

Details: Pifer stressed that Ukraine had decided to send the nuclear warheads to Russia for dismantling largely because Moscow had committed to respecting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and not using force against Ukraine.

He advised Grenell to read the full story.

Earlier, former US president Bill Clinton expressed regret over his role in Ukraine's nuclear disarmament in the 1990s, suggesting that otherwise Russia might not have launched its full-scale invasion.

For reference: In January 1994, Clinton signed a trilateral agreement with the then presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kravchuk, on eliminating the arsenal of strategic nuclear weapons that remained on Ukrainian territory after the collapse of the USSR.

In December of the same year, the United States also joined the Budapest Memorandum, which stipulated Russia's obligation to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine. 

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