After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited a significant nuclear stockpile. Despite possessing these nuclear weapons, Ukraine decided to give them up due to financial constraints and geopolitical risks. The 1994 Budapest Memorandum assured security guarantees, which were unfortunately proven unreliable when Russia annexed Crimea and backed separatists in Ukraine. The current Russia-Ukraine conflict underscores the weaknesses of Ukrainian security in the absence of nuclear deterrence. The vulnerability of Ukraine’s security without nuclear weapons has become a critical issue in the region.