Nuclear weapons possession gives you certain prerogatives, and threats of the russian leader volodymyr putin have clearly demonstrated this.

This was emphasized by Mariana Budjeryn, Senior Research Associate at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center at the 16 th Annual Kyiv Security Forum established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk “Open Ukraine” Foundation.

“This war was inaugurated by Mr. putin under a thick shadow of nuclear threats and with a very concrete political purpose to prevent Western assistance to Ukraine. Partially, these threats have been successful, as to the timing and the kind of military assistance Ukraine received”, - she said.

The expert also reminded the audience that Ukraine inherited nuclear weapons but gave up them in return to security commitments of nuclear weapons states.

“Signatory parties to the Budapest Memorandum have taken a muted reaction when the breach of the Budapest memorandum arose. For putin, this became a signal fact that signatories would respect the letter and not the spirit of the Memorandum. And this is a regrettable picture for nuclear aspirants, as possessing such weapons gives your certain prerogatives”, - emphasized Mariana Budjeryn.

The 16th Annual Kyiv Security Forum is held March 21-22, 2024, to gather transatlantic support for Ukraine. This year Forum slogan is “Ukraine’s call to the World: Together We Prevail!”.