Here’s a question. Does anyone remember the Budapest Memorandum? No, it’s not the title of a Robert Ludlum thriller or the plot line of a Le Carre novel. Rather, it’s an agreement that altered the shape of modern history by making Europe and the world a much safer place. The Memorandum was an agreement signed by Ukraine, Russia, the U.S., and the UK. Let’s back up a step. When the Cold War ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine maintained possession of 1700 Soviet nuclear warheads. In 1994, the Budapest Memorandum stipulated Ukraine would relinquish its entire nuclear arsenal and transfer them to Russia to be dismantled. Moreover, Ukraine agreed to sign the nuclear nonproliferation treaty.
What did Ukraine receive in return for its bold action? Russia, the U.S., and the UK agreed to respect its national sovereignty and to protect it from any foreign aggression. Yes, you read that right. Ukraine received a security guarantee from Russia, the US, and the UK when it gave up its nukes. Ukraine had a security deal guaranteed by the US. Someone needs to give the current administration a much-needed history lesson. However, the agreement proved unworthy of the paper it was printed on. The only signatory that abided by its terms was Ukraine. Of course, there is significant regret in Ukraine for agreeing to the deal. In all likelihood, Russia would never have invaded Crimea in 2014 and/or started a full-scale unprovoked war in 2022 if Ukraine remained a nuclear power.
Russian authorities allege Ukraine violated the terms of the Memorandum by engaging what it termed “extreme nationalist” behavior. Their claim is reminiscent of how Soviet leaders referred to dissidents as “hooligans”. Undoubtedly, the Russian leadership took strong exception to Ukraine’s 2014 ouster of its autocratic leader who was an obvious Russian puppet. He fled to Russia to leave the Ukrainian people to decide their own political fate. And they chose national freedom over Russian domination, or what Russia interprets as “extreme nationalism”. Clearly, Ukraine’s Western pivot threatened Putin’s desire to reestablish Russia’s imperial dreams in Eastern Europe.
During his recent ambush in the Oval Office, Zelensky tried to explain to Trump, Vance, and the American people, that Ukraine was fighting for its own survival and resisting Russian aggression on behalf of Europe and the U.S.. This is what Zelensky meant when he said, speaking in broken English, that Trump would feel Putin’s “influence”. As if engaged in a barroom brawl, Trump berated Zelensky without having a clue about what he meant and then managed to convey his clear affinity for Putin.
Of course, Zelensky was right. He understands how Russia wants to reestablish its empire in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and to sow discord in the West. Prior to the war, Putin fashioned himself as a cross between Peter the Great and Henry Kissinger. But he revealed himself to be nothing other than a Stalinist dictator but with a twist. The Soviets used to ally themselves with radical left-wing movements in the West to promote a global socialist revolution.
Putin does the opposite. He curries the favor of right-wing nationalist leaders and movements. He referred to Silvio Berlusconi as a dear friend and remains close to others like Marine Le Pen and, yes, Donald Trump. But make no mistake. While the alliances are different, the Russian goal remains the same: to weaken Western liberal democracies that Putin believes are weak, corrupt, and morally bankrupt. Trump’s astonishing petulant outburst in the Oval Office, coupled with the immediate action to disband important working groups at the Justice Department targeting foreign agent interference and money laundering, and his unconstitutional and illegal actions over the last several weeks, indicate Putin has found an ideal partner to realize his subversive agenda from the most unlikely source: the president of the United States. It is time for all concerned Americans to pose Jack Bauer’s insistent question from the hit TV show 24: Who is he working for?
Neal Aponte, Ph.D.
Editor of Delano