[the_snooze]

Ukraine was never a nuclear power any real sense. The USSR's bombs were parked there, and Ukraine merely had physical (but not operational) custody over them after the USSR fell. Ukraine could have kept them to bootstrap a nuclear arms program, but they didn't, so they were never had a nuclear deterrent to give up in the first place.

[qaq]

Nice russian talking point. UA designed developed and maintained most top tier soviet nuclear weapons. The largest nuke plant in USSR was Yuzhmash in Dnepr and largest design bureau again in UA Dnepr KB Yuzhnoe. UA had to help maintain russian nukes after the collapse of USSR cause russia lacked tech. capability.

[qaq]

To understand scale the Yuzhmash campus is 1800+ acres Boeing Everett is about 1000 acres

[temp8830]

You know the truth full well, but insist on perpetuating the myth of genius Ukrainians and dumb Russian orcs.

The USSR had a policy of distributing economic development over its entire area instead of concentrating it in one place. Once a high-tech facility was built, it would be staffed by specialists recruited from all over the Soviet Union. They would be offered generous relocation assistance.

Now, I am not saying that Ukrainians are dumb or anything like that. What I am saying is that in a centrally planned economy the location of a project is chosen according to different criteria.

[qaq]

Where did I say russians are dumb? The claim I am disputing is a myth that Ukraine was just a place the nukes were stationed in and they had no capability to manage them. While USSR was often making sub-optimal decisions availability of eng. talent was def a consideration when sites were being chosen. There is a very long list of key Nuke and space related R&D and manufacturing in UA. They are concentrated in exactly 3 places (Dnepr, Kyiv, Kharkiv), so you spiel on distributing does not make much sense.

[aktenlage]

Credible Source?

[ceejayoz]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnepr_(rocket)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KB_Pivdenne

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pivdenmash

etc.

[qaq]

Are you banned by google ? I literally provided you the names of the entities. They btw. designed and built the infamous SS-18 Satan