After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited a substantial nuclear stockpile. However, due to financial constraints and geopolitical concerns, Ukraine made the decision to relinquish its nuclear weapons. The 1994 Budapest Memorandum was supposed to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, but these promises proved to be unreliable when Russia annexed Crimea and backed separatists in Ukraine. The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine underscores the challenges faced by Ukraine in terms of security without nuclear deterrence. The vulnerability of Ukrainian security has been exposed by the ongoing tensions in the region.