The Budapest Memorandum was signed on December 5, 1994. This agreement between #Russia, the #USA, the #UK and #Ukraine, - with #France and #China serving as witnesses - facilitated the denuclearization of Ukraine. At that time, Ukraine hosted 1800 nuclear warheads.
In exchange for giving up the post Soviet nuclear arsenal, Ukraine received an express guarantee of recognition of its borders.
“If Russia doesn't honor its own agreements, what is the motivation? ”
Shortly after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine built a concrete dam cutting off nearly 90 percent of the peninsula’s water supply. Prior to annexation, approximately 80% of water was used for agricultural needs. The remaining 20% was channelled to water reservoirs and used to supply the population.
The canal carrying water to Crimea was 400 kilometers.
Crimea is Running Out of Water
For Crimea, 2020 was the driest year during the recent 150 years: dried-up rivers, decreasing reservoirs and a bad harvests.
So the water shortage in Crimea cannot be solved without Ukraine agreeing to restart the water flow.
Crimea represents a crown jewel in Putin's vision.
TerraManta #machinelarning platform performs motivational analysis of countries which produce and consume commodities.
Very unfortunate and tragic.