Thread by @olgatokariuk

A lot of comparisons to Budapest memorandum in Ukraine as US&Germany prepare to present a #NorthStream2 deal. Back in 1994, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange of vague security guarantees by the UK and US. When Russia invaded in 2014, the West said it was non-binding

Ukraine has been resisting Russian aggression for 7 years. 14,000 people died. Now, it feels like the West is letting it down again by rewarding Russia with a pipeline which not only deprives Ukraine of transit fees, but poses a huge security risk. 🇷🇺 will use it as a weapon

After Germany's reluctance to support Ukraine's NATO/EU ambitions and refusal to provide it with defensive weapons, Kyiv understandably doesn't trust any kind of a vague deal. 1 bln$ of promised investments in green energy looks like a joke: yearly losses from transit are 1.4 bln

More importantly, Ukraine feels that European Union will be less interested in its security once Ukraine loses its status as a vital transit country. That was Russia's plan and so far everything goes smoothly for the Kremlin. Kyiv feels it's being left alone with the aggressor

Here's a joint statement by the US and Germany outlining support for Ukraine after North Stream becomes operational.Looks like nothing new here compared to earlier media reports.Mostly financial support for Kyiv and no concrete commitments in security area state.gov/joint-statemen…