No Nuclear Return: U.S. Stance on Ukraine's Armament

The U.S. is not considering returning nuclear weapons to Ukraine. National security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed this, addressing speculation from a New York Times article. Instead, the U.S. focuses on providing Ukraine with conventional military support. Russia condemned the idea as 'absolute insanity,' referring to historical agreements.

The United States has officially ruled out the possibility of returning nuclear weapons to Ukraine, according to Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser. Sullivan addressed this topic during an ABC News interview, responding to claims from a New York Times piece that some Western officials had speculated about President Joe Biden discussing such a move before leaving office.

In his statement, Sullivan emphasized, '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 giving them nuclear capability.'

This response follows Russia's harsh criticism of the suggestion as 'absolute insanity.' The historical context traces back to Ukraine's inheritance of nuclear weapons after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, which they relinquished in 1994 as part of the Budapest Memorandum, in exchange for security assurances from major powers including the United States and Russia.

(With inputs from agencies.)