23/11/2025
In 1993, the parliamentary newspaper “Holos Ukrainy” published a satirical illustration showing Ukraine being persuaded to give up its nuclear weapons. In the end, the cartoon by Volodymyr Zayets turned out to be prophetic.
In the drawing, Ukraine is depicted as a rabbit holding a rifle, while the US, the UK, and Russia appear as a wolf, a fox, and a bear with a mace. “Hand over your rifle, and we’ll guarantee your safety,” reads the caption under the telling illustration, which was published in July 1993 — just a few months before the signing of the Budapest Memorandum.
It is worth recalling that nearly 30 years ago, on December 5, 1994, in the capital of Hungary, the Budapest Memorandum was signed. At that time, three countries — the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia — gave Ukraine security assurances in exchange for giving up its nuclear status.
Today, Russia and the United States are demanding that we sign yet another memorandum drafted in the Kremlin — one that requires us to hand over to the aggressor the parts of Donetsk region that are not occupied, reduce our army, forgive all Russian war crimes (and all crimes in general), lift sanctions, and for some reason declare once again that Ukraine is a non-nuclear state (is this some kind of mockery?). Ukraine is also expected to urgently hold elections — which Russia will, of course, try to influence. And in return for all this, we are supposed to receive a “promise of peace” from Putin and Trump. Are we being treated like idiots?
