Nuclear Upon the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited a considerable nuclear potential, in the form of 176 SS-19 and SS-24 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs; 1,240 warheads) and 44 strategic bombers. In addition, there were an unspecified number of tactical nuclear warheads on its territory. However, in spite of some domestic opposition, Ukraine gradually rid itself of its nuclear weapon inheritance by transferring both tactical and strategic warheads to Russia (the last warheads were transferred by June 1996 in return for Russian compensation in the form of fuel for Ukraine’s nuclear power reactors) and eliminating missiles, missile silos, and strategic bombers on its territory. Ukraine also acceded to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) and joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as non-nuclear weapon state. By January 2002, all strategic bombers on Ukraine’s territory had been either dismantled, transferred to Russia, or converted to non-military use; all ICBMs had been extracted from the silos and either eliminated or disassembled pending elimination; and all ICBM silos had been eliminated. http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=10509207
Ukraine agreed in January 1994 to return the strategic nuclear warheads located on its territory to Russia for dismantlement in exchange for security assurances, compensation for the nuclear material in the warheads and expanded Western assistance. Ukraine has acted on its commitment by returning strategic nuclear weapons to Russia. In accompanying letters to the Lisbon Protocol, the former Republics of Ukraine, Kazakstan, and Belarus agreed to eliminate from their territory all former Soviet nuclear arms. In addition, Ukraine acceded to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapons state on December 5, 1994. This action fulfilled a Russian precondition for implementing START I, which entered into force on December 5, 1994. In May 1994, Ukraine signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States, committing itself to adhere to MTCR Guidelines. http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/prolif96/fsu.html
June 1, 1996: Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma announced that Ukraine had transferred the last of the former Soviet strategic nuclear warheads on its territory to Russia, thereby making it the second republic of the former Soviet Union to become completely nuclear-free. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine inherited roughly 1,900 strategic warheads and 2,500 tactical warheads—the equivalent of the world's third largest nuclear arsenal—although Kiev never had operational control over the weapons. http://www.armscontrol.org/act/1997_06-07/factjj.asp
MOSCOW, April 4 (UPI) -- On April 3 the Russian journal Novaia Gazeta reported that 250 nuclear warheads with a total yield of 20 megatons were not returned by Ukraine to Russia.
Novaia Gazeta suggested the warheads could have been sold to a third country, possibly Iran.
The 200-kiloton warheads were due to be returned to Russia in 1992 after Ukraine declared itself a nuclear-free zone following a payment by Moscow to Kiev of approximately $500 million. The missing warheads were inventoried on papers Ukraine submitted to Moscow that were officially accepted by Russia.
Besides reimbursement, Ukraine was to receive uranium for its reactors from Russia's AES as part of the deal.
Sergey Sinchenko, a member of a parliamentary commission investigating illegal arms trafficking, revealed the discrepancies. According to Sinchenko, the nuclear warheads could remain combat-ready up to at least 2010.
Ukraine's ForUm news agency reported on April 3 that Russian General Staff Chief and Deputy Defense Minister General Yuri Baluyevsky said, "Russia's General Staff has no information about whether Ukraine has given 250 nuclear warheads to Iran or not. I do not comment on unsubstantiated reports."
The rumor is that Belarus had agreed to transfer the S-300 systems to Iran to defend against possible US or Israeli air strikes.
-Am
MOSCOW, April 22 (AFP) Apr 22, 2006 Russia has begun delivering a sophisticated air defense system to Belarus in what the defense ministry said Saturday was part of plans to integrate the two countries' military forces. The S-300PS surface-to-air missile system can hit targets 150 kilometers (93 miles) away, the Russian defense ministry's daily newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda said in a report on a visit to Minsk by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on Friday, when the first S-300 delivery arrived.
"The complex international situation confirms the need for tighter coordination of of activities of the Russian and Belarussian military sectors," the paper quoted Ivanov as saying.
Top defense officials from both countries have firmly denied a report earlier in the week published on the website of the British defense journal Jane's Intelligence Digest that Belarus had agreed to transfer the S-300 systems to Iran to defend against possible US or Israeli air strikes.
The Russian defense ministry said Monday that the report "does not correspond to reality" while Belarussian Defense Minister Leonid Maltsev dismissed the report as "nonsense", ITAR-TASS news agency said.
Russia and Belarus have recently stepped up talk of integrating their military forces as part of plans, on the drawing board for around a decade, for an eventual merger of Belarus with Russia.
"Military integration in the framework of creating a unified state is one of the top priorities for Russia and Belarus," Krasnaya Zvezda said.
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