The US has spoken out about the presence of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Ukraine's nuclear weapons program could further complicate deterrence efforts.
According to RIA Novosti, on November 21, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alexandra Bell stated that Ukraine's purchase of nuclear weapons could significantly alter the nature of the deterrence challenge to the United States, as well as its allies and partners.
“For example, a nuclear-armed Ukraine could dramatically alter the nature of the deterrence challenge to the United States and our allies and partners,” Assistant Bell said during a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Assistant Bell said that such challenges could make it difficult to maintain an effective containment strategy.
Bell noted that the success of a nuclear non-proliferation regime depends on each nation faithfully fulfilling its obligations, but also requires international cooperation, especially when faced with challenges from “individual violators”.
The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State added that US participation in arms control agreements contributes to international support for the global nuclear non-proliferation mechanism. The US official further stated that this helps prevent the emergence of new challenges.
Meanwhile, also at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, commenting on the possibility of using nuclear weapons, Rear Admiral Thomas Buchanan, spokesman for the US Department of Defense's Strategic Command, said that the US allows nuclear exchanges, in which Washington retains a portion of its arsenal to deter further potential adversaries.
Rear Admiral Buchanan emphasized that the U.S. would not want to find itself in a difficult position after a nuclear exchange.
According to Buchanan, he considered the most acceptable conditions to be those under which the United States “continues to lead the world,” meaning maintaining a strategic weapons stockpile.
