> They didn't have a choice. Nuclear weapons require significant investments to keep them working. They did have a choice. A choice between short-term prosperi

> They didn't have a choice. Nuclear weapons require significant investments to keep them working. They did have a choice. A choice between short-term prosperity and guaranteed long-term security. They chose prosperity because Russia didn't feel like a threat back in the early 1990s. Russia under Gorbachev and Yeltsin felt like the beginning of a democratic era for that country. The mood was extremely optimistic and hopeful. The error Ukrainians made was tragic. They should have learned that historical patterns repeat. You do not want to be a country between Germany and Russia without a mutual defense treaty with a superpower (which I recognize that you noted in your post), or nukes.