The United States is not considering returning to Ukraine the nuclear weapons the country previously agreed to give up under the Budapest Memorandum, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in an interview on Dec. 1.
When asked by ABC News whether the U.S. is considering retuning nuclear weapons to Ukraine, Sullivan denied that the escalatory move was in discussion.
"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 told ABC News.
The New York Times reported on Nov. 22 that several U.S. officials have suggested that President Joe Biden was could allow Ukraine to possess nuclear weapons once again.
Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear arsenal in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum in exchange for receiving security guarantees from the U.S., the U.K., and Russia.
Sullivan's comments on the issue comes as the Biden administration continues to make series of decisions aimed at giving Kyiv leverage in future negotiations, ahead of the January inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump — who has criticized military support for Kyiv.
These steps included approving the delivery of anti-personnel mines and granting permission for Ukraine to launch U.S.-made long-range ATACMS at targets within Russia.
In recent months, Ukrainian officials reportedly floated the proposal of securing nuclear weapons if it is not provided accession into the NATO military alliance.
On Oct. 17, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he told Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in September that Ukraine must either join NATO or pursue nuclear capabilities for protection.
Zelensky later clarified the comments, saying that Ukraine is not pursuing nuclear weapons and the remarks were made to emphasize the failures of the Budapest Memorandum.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi further said in a statement on Oct. 17 that Ukraine is not planning to develop weapons of mass destruction and remains committed to nuclear non-proliferation.
The statement came after the German media outlet Bild reported that Kyiv is preparing to develop nuclear weapons. The story cited an unnamed Ukrainian source.
Russia continues to increase its nuclear sabre-rattling, as it has done throughout the full-scale invasion. Despite the Kremlin's threats, the risk of a nuclear attack is unlikely, Reuters reported, citing five unnamed sources familiar with U.S. intelligence data.
As Russia continues to escalate its nuclear rhetoric domestically, 39% of Russians now believe that "the use of nuclear weapons could be justified" in Ukraine, Alexey Levinson, chief of the sociocultural research department at the Russian independent polling organization Levada Center, said at a conference on Nov. 29.
Liliane Bivings
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