When the Soviet Union imploded, the United States and Russia agreed to guarantee the territorial integrity of Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine giving back to Russia the nuclear weapons then in the country. After this, Russia invaded Crimea in 2014 as its first act of aggression against Ukraine. In 2022, Russia then began an all-out conquest of the country and, for the past four years, Ukraine has been fighting for its survival.
Recognizing that guarantees of security by the great powers are essentially worthless, it is clear that Ukraine will need to quietly develop its own nuclear weapons to permanently deter future Russian invasions. After it has at least two working nuclear bombs capable of taking out Moscow and St. Petersburg, only then will Ukraine finally feel safe.
Some say that membership in NATO will provide the necessary security, but this assumes that Europe will not blink should Russia ever try again. Fundamentally, no one should go to a potential nuclear conflict unless one has a few nuclear bombs, as drones alone may not be enough to deter a future invasion.
