Ukraine
Country Spotlight
Upon Ukraine’s 1991 independence, over 1,700 Soviet nuclear weapons were left on its territory. Ukraine never possessed operational control of the weapons, and all were removed to Russia under a 1994 agreement in exchange for security assurances. Ukraine has accused Russia of violating the agreement with its 2014 annexation of Crimea, and again with the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
See Ukraine’s performance in:
Region Former Soviet Union
1,240 Nuclear warheads inherited from former Soviet Union and returned to Russia
16 Intercontinental ballistic missile silos deactivated and destroyed
1992 Disassembled or transferred chemical weapons infrastructure by 1992
4 Planned nuclear power plants
Nuclear
- In 2023, the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine shut down all six reactors, removing the risk of serious radiological consequences
- While Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been occupied by Russia since 2022, the IAEA has been able to negotiate access to confirm the shutdown and maintain safety at the plant
- Never possessed operational control of any nuclear weapons left on its territory after the fall of the Soviet Union
- Relies on 15 nuclear power reactors to generate over half of the country’s electricity
- Fulfilled 2010 commitment to remove all Highly Enriched Uranium from its territory
Biological
- Has not engaged in biological weapons activities since independence in 1991
- Joined a Cooperative Threat Reduction agreement with the U.S. to secure biological institutes
- Continues to study biological agents at Ministry of Health and Veterinary laboratories to prevent the development of biological weapons
- In 2016 Ukraine joined the Biosurveillance Network of the Silk Road (BNSR), which has a goal of strengthening global health and creating disease surveillance networks in the Eastern European region in order to respond to biological crises
Missile
- Developing the Hrim-2, a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM)
- Announced the production of the Palianytsia, a lightweight missile-drone hybrid.
- Used its Neptune antiship cruise missile to destroy a Russian missile cruiser; modified the Neptune for use as a land-attack cruise missile
- Used ATACMS missiles received from the US in 2023 to attack Russian military targets
Chemical
- Territory used by Soviet government for chemical weapons storage and testing prior to 1991
- Returned all chemical weapons to Russia for elimination following independence
- Participates in training to respond to assassinations involving chemical weapons
- On 14 February 2025, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) released a report confirming the use of toxic chemical 2-Chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile (CS) in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine had previously alleged to OPCW that Russia was using riot control agents on Ukrainian forces