50 years ago, on March 5, 1970, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) entered into force. So far, this document is considered by the vast majority of states as the cornerstone of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.

Ukraine has made an unprecedented contribution to the process of ridding the world of these deadly weapons by abandoning the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal and joining the NPT as a nuclear-free state.

Remaining adherent to the nuclear non-proliferation regime, we are compelled to state once again that the Russian Federation continues to violate the security guarantees given to Ukraine in connection with the abandonment of nuclear weapons and enshrined in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. The Russian armed aggression against Ukraine, which has been going on for the seventh year, became an example of cynical disregard by one of the nuclear countries of the current international instruments in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

Ukraine's negative experience in the practical application of the security assurances received has jeopardized the prospects of global nuclear disarmament, demonstrating the poor effectiveness of relevant international mechanisms.

Ukraine's position remains clear: the fundamental requirements of the NPT must be strictly adhered to. This is the only path to the ultimate goal of the Treaty – the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.