Source https://jlai.lu/comment/17891842
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Ukraine was under a Russian friendly government when it return weapons on loan from Russia to the Russians. This was an agreement lobbied for by the US as part of a condition for Ukraine joining Western economic trade.
This was never a choice in any material sense. No more than the Cubans giving back the missiles they had staged during the Kennedy crisis (or Turkiye giving back their Jupiter missiles in turn).
Also, nukes are expensive to maintain. Ukraine simply didn’t have the resources to do that.
Quite possibly, Russia didn’t either, but they tried.
Not only that, but they didn’t have the launch codes, as those were kept in Russia. History Matters made a lovely little educational cartoon on the subject. Honestly, wish Ukraine held out for an official guarantee of independence instead of just aid money, but who knows if even that would have been honoured today.