Ukraine deactivates some missiles as good will gesture toward West (12/26/93)

Ukraine deactivates some missiles as good will gesture toward West

by Marta Kolomayets
Kyyiv Press Bureau

KYYIV - In what has been called a gesture of good will toward the West, Ukraine has deactivated 17 of its 46 SS-24 missiles and plans to take three more off military alert by the end of the year, Ukrainian officials said on Monday, December 20.

"Seventeen missiles have been deactivated," said Deputy Prime Minister Valeriy Shmarov, explaining that the warheads have been removed from the launchers and placed in a storage complex. He said the remaining 26 missiles would be deactivated by the end of 1994. The SS-24s, which are the most modern of Ukraine's nuclear arsenal, carry 10 warheads each; to date 170 warheads have been removed from the launchers.

"I think the world community will evaluate this step accordingly," said Mr. Shmarov, who is in charge of the defense conversion complex.

President Leonid Kravchuk confirmed this news, which came just three days after high-level delegations from the United States, Russia and Ukraine met in Kyyiv. That delegation included Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov, U.S. Ambassador at Large Strobe Talbott and U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Warren Perry, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Shmarov and Deputy Foreign Minister Borys Tarasiuk.

According to Ukrainian government sources, Ukraine reached a preliminary agreement with the other two nuclear states on receiving compensation for its nuclear weapon.

Mr. Kravchuk told reporters on Tuesday, December 21, that a three-way agreement regarding compensation for nuclear weapons, security guarantees and scientific and technical assistance would soon be signed by the three nations, but could not give details, adding only that it would be an agreement based on international principles. He said this topic was discussed during a meeting with Vice President Al Gore last week in Budapest, where the two leaders had traveled for the funeral of Joszef Antall, former prime minister of Hungary.

However, there was no immediate comment from U.S. or Russian government officials.

"We have removed the warheads from the missile launchers and placed them on the 'object S' [storage complex]. They can be put back on the missiles. But, I'd like to stress a different matter; if they are on the missiles, who can utilize them? Russia. The button is in Moscow," said Mr. Kravchuk.

Although Ukrainian officials have been tight-lipped about the possible conditions of compensation, government sources have said compensation for strategic weapons included a promise to supply 50 tons of uranium for Ukrainian nuclear power stations. Compensation for tactical weapons would include Russia's agreement to reduce Ukraine's bill for gas and oil, which is to reach world prices by January 1994.

However, the nuclear weapons remain on Ukrainian territory, noted Deputy Foreign Minister Boris Tarasiuk.

"Essentially, we are taking them off military alert as a safety measure, as well as to demonstrate to the world community that Ukraine does not have plans or opportunities to take part in nuclear blackmail," he noted.

"These steps are not part of fulfilling START I obligations; we cannot begin fulfilling them until the conditions accompanying START I ratification are met," said Mr. Tarasiuk.

The deputy foreign minister noted that only two warheads from SS-19s had been transferred to Russia since the summer because their safety mechanism were due to expire and they posed an ecological hazard.

Parliament left in the dark

However, few legislators were aware of early deactivization.

"Shmarov is the most dangerous criminal, he has signed a pact with Kravchuk and the United States and with his actions he has sharply decreased Ukraine's defense possibilities," said Stepan Khmara, a national democrat who has led the pro-nuclear lobby in the Parliament.

"Ukraine is now open to any kind of aggression. It is no longer able to defend itself. Shmarov should be taken to trial for such an action. He took missiles off military alert, the SS-24s, some of which have safety guarantees until 2015," said Mr. Khmara.

"This is not the time to fool people, to tell them that we have nuclear weapons which we can utilize for our defense, our national interests. This would be a plain lie," said Mr. Kravchuk.

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