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Updated October 2009
Introduction
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited a sizeable nuclear weapons infrastructure. Ukraine's sudden possession of the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world left the newly independent country with a strategic decision of whether or not to return these weapons to Russia or be considered a nuclear weapons state. In the end, Ukraine, along with Kazakhstan and Belarus, decided to return their weapons and delivery systems to Russia and to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as non-nuclear weapons states and signed the START I treaty that helped facilitate the transfer of all strategic and tactical nuclear warheads and the dismantlement and/or removal of all their associated launch systems and delivery vehicles. All chemical weapons were returned to Russia for elimination by January 1992. Ukraine does not possess biological weapons and continues to cooperate with the United States on physical protection upgrades a research institutes housing dangerous pathogens.
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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.
Biological
Even though Ukrainian anti-plague facilities once took part in the Soviet defensive biological warfare (BW) effort, they were mainly responsible for civilian epidemiological investigations and did not have direct links with the USSR Ministry of Defense (MOD) or Biopreparat facilities. Ukraine ratified the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) in 1975, and it is a member of the Australia Group. Under an August 2005 Cooperative Threat Reduction agreement, the United States is funding security upgrades at Ukrainian biological institutes, where dangerous pathogens are kept.
See Ukraine Biological Profile
Chemical
In January 1992, Russian President Boris Yeltsin declared that all former Soviet chemical weapons had been moved to Russia. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Ukraine does not have a chemical warfare program, nor does it plan to establish one. Ukraine is a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which it ratified in 1998. Ukraine joined the Australia Group in April 2005.
Missile
Ukraine inherited significant ICBM design and production capabilities from the Soviet Union. These included the Pivdenne (formerly Yuzhnoye) Design Bureau, responsible for the design of the SS-18 and the SS-24 ICBMs, and the Pivdenmash (formerly Yuzhmash) Machine-Building Plant, which produced a wide range of Soviet ICBMs, including the SS-18 and SS-24. Other former Soviet missile-industrial complex facilities in Ukraine include the Pavlohrad Chemical and Mechanical Plants, which were also involved in ICBM manufacture, and the Khartron Production Association, which produced guidance systems. These enterprises have since become involved in a variety of space projects, including converting SS-18 ICBMs to space launch vehicles (SLVs) in cooperation with Russian firms, participating in the international Sea Launch program, and cooperating with Russian enterprises on new SLV designs. As of February 2009, Ukraine is reportedly working on designing a tactical ballistic missile, which it hopes to test by 2011. Ukraine is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime and has signed on to the Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCOC)
This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for
Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and
does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently
verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2010 by MIIS.
