Ohryzko says shifting security guarantees for Ukraine to Europe is unfair

Volodymyr Ohryzko, former Ukrainian foreign minister and head of the Center for Russian Studies, said this in an interview with Ukrinform, responding to a statement by Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz, who suggested that the U.S. aims to end the Russia-Ukraine war while leaving security guarantees for Ukraine in Europe’s hands.

“I believe this approach is absolutely unfair and dishonest. The United States, together with their then-beloved Russia, was the one that took away our nuclear weapons. Therefore, Washington bears responsibility for Ukraine’s security, as directly stated in the Budapest Memorandum, regardless of how we view it,” Ohryzko said.

He said that the document explicitly mentions that the U.S., among others, guarantees Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

“Americans now claim it was merely an ‘assurance’ rather than a guarantee. But let the lawyers argue over that. The fact remains: in international practice, all signed agreements hold equal weight. Both the Ukrainian and Russian versions of the document use the word ‘guarantees,’ so Ukraine has every right to interpret it as such. These attempts by the U.S. to claim it’s ‘not their concern’ are completely inadequate,” he added.

In his opinion, Europe also shares responsibility, but placing the entire burden on European countries is unfair.

“It is unfair both to the Europeans themselves and to Ukraine. Such statements are completely unacceptable to us. Just like calls for a ‘compromise’ between Ukraine and Russia. Are we expected to make concessions to a war criminal? That’s absurd. It’s like a thief stealing 100 million, returning 80, and thinking the remaining 20 is his bonus. This is not about justice or diplomacy – it’s about legitimizing a crime,” Ohryzko said.

He believes these statements are a test to gauge Ukraine’s firmness in defending its national interests.

“Our response must be firm and unequivocal: these approaches are unacceptable to us,” the diplomat said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier stated in an interview with Italian journalist Cecilia Sala that Ukraine’s future security guarantees must include commitments from both European countries and the United States.

Additionally, in a statement marking the 30th anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that Ukraine’s full NATO membership is the only real security guarantee and deterrent against further Russian aggression.