Ukraine
During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2023, the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, recalled his country’s decision in the 1990s to relinquish Soviet-era nuclear weapons on its territory. ‘Ukraine gave up its third largest nuclear arsenal,’ he said. ‘The world then decided Russia should become a keeper of such power. Yet, history shows it was Russia who deserved nuclear disarmament the most, back in the 1990s. And Russia deserves it now – terrorists have no right to hold nuclear weapons.’[1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Test | Compatible | |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compatible |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compatible |
| (d) | Use | Compatible |
| Threaten to use | Compatible | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compatible |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compatible |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compatible |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted no (2023) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| 2MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | N/A |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | No |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Did not vote |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | No |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1994) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001, Annex 2 state) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1975) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1998) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (22 Jan 1998) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Ukraine said that achieving progress towards ‘the ultimate goal of the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free world has been one of Ukraine’s top priorities’. It expressed its regret at the dramatic deterioration in the global disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control architecture in recent years. ‘The nuclear blackmail has been part of Russia’s playbook from the start of its full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine,’ it said.2
Ukraine voted against the annual UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW for the first time in 2023. From 2018 to 2022, it had abstained from voting on the resolution. It maintains policies and practices that are compatible with all of the prohibitions in Article 1 of the Treaty, and can therefore sign and ratify it without the need for a change in conduct.
Recommendations
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Ukraine should urgently adhere to the TPNW. Until it is in a position to do so, it should welcome the TPNW as a valuable component in the global disarmament and non-proliferation architecture, work with the Treaty's states parties on practical steps towards disarmament, and attend the meetings of states parties as an observer.