>That said, Ukraine is also "protected" by the US thanks to a binding treaty. The Budapest Memorandum isn't a binding treaty. A treaty must be ratified by the

>That said, Ukraine is also "protected" by the US thanks to a binding treaty. The Budapest Memorandum isn't a binding treaty. A treaty must be ratified by the Senate, but the Budapest Memorandum was just an unratified political agreement. We do however have a formal treaty with Japan that guarantees military assistance. Furthermore it didn't say anything about the United State's obligations to protect Ukraine with our nuclear umbrella. It only said that the US (along with Russia and Great Britain) would: respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine; not use force, economic pressure, or nuclear weapons against Ukraine; and seek UN Security council action if nuclear weapons were used against Ukraine. Nowhere does it say we are under any obligation to respond with military force if another country invades Ukraine, it just says we won't invade.