Ukraine inherited ~1,900 nuclear warheads when the USSR collapsed but none of the launch codes or operational command systems controlled from Moscow. The warhea

Ukraine inherited ~1,900 nuclear warheads when the USSR collapsed but none of the launch codes or operational command systems controlled from Moscow. The warheads required regular replacement of tritium and other components with short half-lives. Post-Chernobyl Ukraine wanted little to do with this responsibility, but in hindsight it seems like a massive strategic mistake for them to give away a massive international bargaining chip in exchange for security assurances that proved worthless when tested in the Budapest Memorandum.