“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
More accurately...
Russia responded to pleas for help from the Russian majority populations in Crimea and in the Donbas.
And, the Black Sea is Russia's only warm water port.
Are you old enough to remember when Panama evicted the USA from the Canal Zone?
Republican Senators and Congressmen were openly advocating for a USA military occupation.
In 1989, Panama President Noriega was accused of drug trafficking by GHW Bush, and the USA military invaded the country.
Noriega spent the last 30 years of his life in prison or home confinement.