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Comment by jpadkins | Hacker News Reader

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> What alliance did the US sign with Ukraine?

Memorandum on Security Assurances in connection with Ukraine's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

> The United States of America reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the CSCE Final Act, to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine.

Which was negotiated as part of a package to prevent nuclear proliferation being required to provide security assurances. America's treatment of Ukraine will be remembered when diplomatic disarmament is proposed to North Korea and Iran.

Thank you. That memo is not a treaty, ratified by our Senate. Second, Russia clearly broke the agreement. Third it only states that the US is obligated to provide assistance if a threat or act of aggression where nuclear weapons are used. As long as Russia does not use nuclear weapons (or threatens them!), we have no obligation in this agreement.

Also it does not specify assistance. Clearly the US has already assisted Ukraine in defending from the invasion from Russia. And clearly the US people are tired of assisting them. We have no alliance with Ukraine.

I'm not saying the US is bound by international law to follow this verbatim. I am saying that our stance here is exactly the motivation required to promote nuclear proliferation to any country that demands others respect their borders.

Iran and North Korea now have no diplomatic path to nuclear disarmament. America has no credible homeland ICBM defense, either, so we're playing a very dangerous game.

> clearly the US people are tired of assisting them

According to whom? 51% supported weapons/military aid at the end of February.[1] Unless the numbers moved, it doesn’t seem “clear” in either direction.

[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-elon-musk-government-work...

Current US Administration: How dare request security guarantees and point out Russia breaks their word more often then not!

Average US Administration supporter: The US didn't give Ukraine security guarantees in the Budapest Memorandum, how dumb of Ukraine to give up a trillion dollars of Nuclear weapons for literally nothing! Also, it was Russia that broke their word, not us!

Also, Russia has threatened the use of nuclear weapons, repeatedly. By claiming Ukrainian soil as theirs, then claiming they would defend "their" land, aka, Ukraine, with nukes. Even going so far as to use ballistic missiles that are only useful as nuclear weapon carriers due to their cost and low accuracy on normal bombardment of Ukraine's cities to create doubt on the Ukraine side whether the next Russian salvo against their cities and civilian population, will be a nuclear one.

Over 6,000 Ukrainians performed military service in Iraq and Kuwait, as allies of the US. They signed the Budapest Memorandum.

Russia/the USSR has been a main or the main enemy of the US for decades and Ukraine is doing the US a service standing up to them. Why do you think the US even had an $800bn military budget for decades?

I’ve thought that bio weapons is a definite nutcase reference

US Department of Defense article from 2019:

https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/20...

>In 2016, the U.S. and Ukraine agreed to a 5-year concept of partnership that focuses on developing a robust and capable Ukranian military and reforming the Ukrainian defense sector to be in line with NATO standards and principles.

...and a lot more. There are five main points.

The point is, the US was heavily actively involved in Ukraine for decades. They were not a bystander.

Working with a military (to reform corruption) is nothing like a Senate approved alliance or mutual defense pact.

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