1. Nope - the 1994 Budapest Memorandum signed by Russia had, as its first statement for Russia to Respect the signatory’s independence and sovereignty in the existing borders==
Nope. When The Friendship Treaty was signed and ratified in 1999 it REPLACED Budapest Memorandum 1994. The treaty was just a realization of promises of Budapest. And Russia followed it until Ukraine decides to disband it.
Russia never accepted Crimea grab by Ukraine in 1954. So was stated in DUMA resolution of 1992 BEFORE Budapest-1994: https://i.imgur.com/bjHdXyN.jpg . It is on Russian and I don’t have English translation. But I’m sure that American foreign affair experts know it.
But Minsk-2 agreement was signed exactly according Friendship Treaty 1999 to keep Novorossiya in Ukraine. And ukies sabotaged this agreement.
SO it was UKRAINE decision to nullify ANY agreements with Russia on mutual border which untied her hands.
SO now Ukraine must give up Novorossiya. But if ukies will not then they may lose other lands which they got from Russia in history. See map: https://i.imgur.com/G95TgRP.png ..
P.S. Sure majority of Russians do NOT want include ukies into Russia. BUT they don’t want them get away with lands which was given to them either.
So if ukies want go to NATO then they must go WITHOUT any Russian gifts of a past meaning out of their limits of 1654(see map). I think it is fair.
No, it did not - that is nowhere stated in the friendship treaty
As to "Russia never accepted Crimea grab by Ukraine in 1954" -- that's a lie
The Russian Soviet Socialist accepted it -- the republic parliaments of both the Russian SFSR and the Ukrainian SSR had given their consent to the transfer of Crimea and so had complied with Article 18 of the Soviet Constitution which stated that "the territory of a Union Republic may not be altered without its consent.", with the proceedings of the USSR Supreme Soviet Presidium meeting indicate that both the Russian SFSR and the Ukrainian SSR had given their consent via their republic parliaments,
In 1954, the parliament of the Russian SFSR made an official petition to the parliament of the Soviet Union to transfer the Crimea Oblast to the Ukrainian SSR. The parliament of the Ukrainian SSR agreed to the transfer. On 26 April 1954, the Supreme Soviet (parliament) of the USSR issued a law on the transfer of the Crimean Region/Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR
Here is the link to the Russian SFSR's official petition
then here is the 1990 agreement between Russia and Ukraine recognizing each other's territory
Furthermore, the very same 1997 "On Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership" Russia confirmed that is "respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine and confirms the inviolability of the borders existing between them" in article 2
So, Russia accepted the transfer and confirmed that acceptance twice after