I am under the impression that Ukraine gained independence from the USSR in 1991 by promising to:
(1) Return all nuclear weapons to Russia.
(2) Never join NATO.
Also, Crimea sought independence from Ukraine in 1991, but settled for more autonomy in exchange for peace.
Demographic data for Crimea is always in dispute, but I think everyone agrees that at least 50% of Crimeans spoke Russian as their first language in 1991.
Putin's war against Ukraine is morally wrong, but a lot of Russians (more than 50%) do live in the three eastern provinces of Ukraine.
On the other hand, it is incomprehensible to me that the USA and NATO have seriously discussed going to war against Putin and his nuclear weapons.
Before the war started, Ukraine had the lowest GDP per capita in Europe, a corrupt government, and a standard of living that was barely above Lebanon, which is mostly governed by the Hezbollah terror organization.
In a dangerous world, the USA needs to choose its friends just as carefully as it chooses its enemies.
“I am under the impression that Ukraine gained independence from the USSR in 1991 by promising to:
(1) Return all nuclear weapons to Russia.
(2) Never join NATO.”
Answer:
Actually it was in 1994, via the Budapest Memorandum.
Ukraine, Russia, USA, UK signed the Budapest Memorandum, letting Ukraine give up its nuclear weapons (1900 missiles) in exchange for guarantees of territorial integrity and security by Russia.
Ukraine got this in return:
- Russia Respecting Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty in the existing borders (in accordance with the principles of the CSCE Final Act).[7] (includes Crimea)
but..
Russia blatantly violated that agreement, in 2014 and 2022.
https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-what-is-the-budapest-memorandum-and-why-has-russias-invasion-torn-it-up-178184