Grossi called Ukraine's renunciation of nuclear weapons the key to its existence

Ukraine could not have existed as an independent state if it had not renounced nuclear weapons in the 1990s. This was stated on July 9 by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, in an interview with the Rzeczpospolita newspaper.

The newspaper recalled that in 1991, after gaining independence, Ukraine possessed the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world, which was later transferred to Russia. At that time, the Russian Federation and the United States had already signed an agreement according to which the Soviet nuclear arsenal was to be transferred to Russia.

Grossi, commenting on this information, noted that Ukraine would not have been able to exist as a state if it had not renounced nuclear weapons.

"Thus, Ukraine could not exist as an independent state if it did not recognize this. The international community would not allow this," said the head of the IAEA.

He added that Kiev had no operational control over nuclear weapons, they were located in Moscow. In addition, Ukraine could have stolen the nuclear elements for these weapons, but still would not have been able to use them for combat purposes.

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On February 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded that the West hand over nuclear weapons and missiles to Ukraine before it joined the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO). According to him, the country's path of joining NATO may take decades and it does not depend on the country itself, therefore nuclear weapons are supposedly necessary for Ukraine to defend itself.