On the morning of March 12th, 2022, as I drank my first cup of coffee, I decided to see what was on YouTube® and in my feed was Flashpoint, a faith-based political program that discusses how prophesy and current events align. The most recent broadcast was about the war in Ukraine, so I decided to watch. As I did, Christian New York Bestselling author, Eric Metaxes said something that though I thought I knew, in this moment in time it started to make sense. He said that God blessed the United States to be a blessing to other nations. And though he didn’t say it, I took that to mean, that since God has blessed our nation to hold over 33% of the world’s wealth[1] along with holding the most military power, God expect us to both share and defend.
“…to whom much is given, from him much will be required…”
Luke 12:48
In the grand scheme of things, we’ve done relatively well…on certain occasions. And not saying our nation is sinless or has shared the wealth, provided aid or defended everyone perfectly. But for the most part, we have done our share. But this is what he said that got my attention.
He said that the U.S. talked the Ukraine out of its nuclear weapons and have used them ever since. The using part is what caught my attention because I knew nothing about the Budapest Memorandum. I thought he was merely talking about when former President Trump asked President Zelenskyy to investigate President Biden’s son. But if in fact, we used the Ukraine after talking them out of their nuclear weapons with the Budapest Memorandum, could this be our moment of redemption? A moment of redemption in the sense that since they are now under attack, is God now giving us, the US, the opportunity to repent?
I use the word repent because repentance is a part of redemption, in the sense what if God is giving our redemptive President, the opportunity to act out repentance by defending the Ukrainians against the Russians? Or would God even require something like that? And if not defend the Ukrainians, would the record-breaking sanctions be enough to actually honor our word that we supposedly broke in the Budapest Memorandum or does the agreement and God require military action? Let’s explore this further.
When I read an overview of the Budapest Memorandum, it called for Ukraine to decommission its weapons in exchange for ‘$2.5 billion in ‘gas and oil debt cancellation and future supplies of fuel for its nuclear power reactors.’ [1] Over the years, the US ‘doubled economic aid.’ [2] After reading the agreement, what I gathered was that it appears that Ukraine gave up its powerful nuclear capability in exchange for debt cancellation and economic aid.
When I read that, I saw that those are manmade or man desired concessions. Corrupt men only interested in money. Because when you think about it, leaders who care about their people don’t negotiate, let alone give up their military power for cash. Therefore, historically, before the war on Ukraine began, Ukraine had already been recognized as a corrupt nation. And as such, some of what we are seeing today is the reaping of past administrations decisions. That past administration being that of former President Leonid Kravchuk. It is because of his poor decisions and desire for his nation to be economically viable and not militarily strong that’s resulted the onslaught we are seeing today. But why would Mr. Kravchuk make such a decision?
I cannot answer that question with a certainty but perhaps his thought process was that this agreement would get his nation, out of their crushing debt which by that time was $2.5 billion in oil and gas. [3] Perhaps he thought the agreement would eliminate the date thus resulting in his nation becoming prosperous like the US. Unfortunately, neither he nor his administration had a plan that actually prospered the people. Meaning, the parts of the Ukrainian government who were responsible for dispensing aid and opportunities to the people never did. Instead, they lined their own and others’ pockets, thus resulting in the people of the Ukraine mistakenly believing that the US didn’t keep their end of the agreement and thereby should be responsible for its defense; when in actuality, according to the agreement, we are not.
According to Wikipedia, the agreement, ‘…refers to assurances, but it does not impose a legal obligation of military assistance on its parties.’ [4] And as such, the U.S. is neither responsible, required, or obligated to defend the Ukraine. And as a Christian, I know that’s hard to receive. But the truth of the matter is that Russia violated the agreement by attacking the Ukraine because the agreement was between Russian, the US and the U.K. They all agreed to
Respect Belarusian, Kazakhstan and Ukrainian independence and sovereignty in the existing border.
Refrain from the threat or the use of force against Belarus, Kazakhstan or Ukraine. [5]…
Which means since Russia attacked and refuses to acknowledge the Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty on top of using force, Russia, as well as the Belarusians are the violators of the agreement. Which brings me to wonder: Why didn’t President Kravchuk negotiate the Ukraine’s admittance into NATO with this type of deal? Why was their no military adviser there to say, “Sir, those this seems to be a great opportunity for the country, should we decommission our weaponry, what assurances do we have in the future? Shouldn’t we use this as an opportunity to become a part of NATO?” Twenty-eight years later, we are now seeing the answer.
The thing about it is that 28 years ago, even though the Ukraine was the 3rd largest holder of nuclear weapons, they never held the codes. Those codes were always in Russia’s possession. Therefore, the Budapest Memorandum was clearly orchestrated, either indirectly or directly, by the Russians, and thus, positioned them to be the nuclear power they are today. In fact this agreement worked front to back for the Russians.
On the front-end the Russians benefitted because they already had the codes. Once the deal was signed, those codes were secured, and were legally cleared as usable. They also benefitted on the backend because the Russians were supposed to be the protectors of the Ukrainians. In fact, that brotherhood was referenced in President Putin’s February 24th address. Unfortunately, the Ukrainians thought their ‘brother’ would protect them when in fact their brother was Cain. Cainish Russia is killing his Ukrainian brother Abel, when for all legal intents and purposes, Cain is internationally and legally responsible and required to protect his younger brother, the Ukraine. The Ukraine gave its power to its big brother and this is what he does. That’s what makes this war even worse. While some are calling for President Putin to be charged with war crimes but something far greater and more sinister has occurred. He is killing his brother…literally.
The other aspect of the Budapest Memorandum is that it states the reason the Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons is because they wanted ‘to step away from the post-Soviet world.’ [6] A better way to put it is the persona the Soviet Union once stood for. And though true, Russia used its little brothers desire to make the world think that so had they; seeing as how they are brothers and neighboring countries. When the Ukraine took that step, that solidified Russia’s image. Only now, big brother is ridding itself of its little brother because he’s served its purpose.
One other thing I’d like to be clear about is that the US is not responsible and should in fact, be commended for its efforts. Not only have we continued to fulfill the economic portion of the agreement, time and time again, but the precedent/record-breaking sanctions that have been levied against Russia, goes above and beyond the agreement. Moreover, after reading the agreement, it is of my opinion, that on the international stage, the US has done above and beyond what Russia and the U.K. agreed to do. And thus, after prayer and research, I can say that much of what we are seeing is the result of a nation reaping what former President Kravchuk sowed.
Remember when I referred to President Biden as a redemptive President? What I meant by that is that the same devastation President Biden caused within Black and brown communities by architecting the The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, also referred to as the 1994 Crime Bill, God gave him the opportunity to repent for his decision. And not repent in the sense of merely apologizing but undoing some of the destruction in which the bill caused. (For an in-depth explanation, please see [insert link]). Because President Biden did, God is now extending the gift of repentance to former President Kravchuk. He has the opportunity to speak to the Ukrainian people about his poor decision. He can explain that the US IS NOT responsible for any military assistance as well as explain his reasoning, and lastly publicly apologizing for the devastation it caused. He, as well as other senior officials, now have the opportunity to publicly repent for their wrongdoing. The question now becomes, will he live up to his moment?
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SOURCES
1 Wikipedia contributors. "List of countries by total wealth." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 11 Apr. 2022. Web. 17 Apr. 2022.
2-6 Wikipedia contributors. "Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 15 Apr. 2022. Web. 17 Apr. 2022.
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