On March 31, deputy director of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Matthew Kroenig authored an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal titled “Leaving nukes in Ukraine was not the answer.” Kroenig refutes the idea that the West should not have pressed Ukraine into nuclear disarmament upon the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
If Kyiv had tried to cling to nukes, Washington would have treated it like Iran and North Korea over the past several decades. Instead, Ukraine became seen in the West as a responsible partner.
Matthew Kroenig
Forward Defense leads the Atlantic Council’s US and global defense programming, developing actionable recommendations for the United States and its allies and partners to compete, innovate, and navigate the rapidly evolving character of warfare. Through its work on US defense policy and force design, the military applications of advanced technology, space security, strategic deterrence, and defense industrial revitalization, it informs the strategies, policies, and capabilities that the United States will need to deter, and, if necessary, prevail in major-power conflict.
