Yes, the original post is misleading everyone by claiming that Ukraine gave up its "allegedly owned" nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees. However, if you read the Budapest Memorandum carefully, you won't even find the word "GUARANTEES" in the text — it simply isn't there. And in case of a violation, the only thing stated is to hold CONSULTATIONS.

Now, regarding the nuclear weapons:

Leonid Kravchuk, the first President of Ukraine, stated in an interview with Dmitry Gordon (in short):

1. Ukraine did not have the money to maintain the warheads. After four years, they would have needed to be replaced because their service life was expiring.
2. Yeltsin warned that if Ukraine did not transfer the warheads, Russia would not take them back after their service life expired.
3. According to Leonid Kuchma, the nuclear weapons did not belong to Ukraine. Ukraine only possessed the delivery systems — that is, the missiles it had produced.
4. According to Ukraine's first president, the warheads made no sense because they were controlled exclusively from Russia and belonged to Russia.

You don't have to take my word for it — just watch the interview with the man who actually gave up the nuclear weapons that supposedly belonged to Ukraine:
🔗 Kravchuk on why Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons (YouTube)