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William J. Broad: Ukraine gave up a giant nuclear arsenal 30 years ago. Today there are regrets

February 7, 2022 5:44 AM 1 min read
Missile silo of a SS-24 missile, Strategic Missile Forces Museum in Ukraine.
This audio is created with AI assistance

At the end of the Cold War, the third largest nuclear power on earth was not Britain, France or China. It was Ukraine. The Soviet collapse, a slow-motion downfall that culminated in December 1991, resulted in the newly independent Ukraine inheriting roughly 5,000 nuclear arms that Moscow had stationed on its soil. Underground silos on its military bases held long-range missiles that carried up to 10 thermonuclear warheads, each far stronger than the bomb that leveled Hiroshima. Only Russia and the United States had more weapons.

Continue reading on The New York Times.

Editor’s Note: This op-ed was published by The New York Times. The Kyiv Independent is aggregating it as a recommendation to our readers.

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