Ukraine has been in the headlines since the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and the public may be understandably tired of hearing more about Ukraine.
Unfortunately, the occasion now is far more serious. Not for Ukraine. For the free world. Indeed, what may happen in Ukraine is likely to determine the future of global security and order. Let’s start with the facts and ask a few basic questions to understand the stakes:
First, after Ukraine emerged as an independent state in 1991, it inherited the 3rd largest arsenal of nuclear weapons. Ukraine gave up its nukes in 1994 in exchange of security guarantees made by the U.S., U.K. and Russia. Ukraine is the one and only country that did it. This example was heralded as a sign of new era in nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.