DISINFO: Lavrov sets US audience straight about the Budapest Memorandum
SUMMARY
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov refuted a U.S. propagandist live on air regarding who failed to uphold the promises made in the Budapest Memorandum. NBC News presenter, Kristen Welker, lied about what the Memorandum said about the security guarantees Russia promised to Ukraine.
Lavrov explained that Ukraine gave away nuclear weapons, and in exchange the Memorandum guaranteed Ukraine’s security as of "any other non-nuclear state". And the obligations of nuclear states, when they give security guarantees to non-nuclear countries, are of not attacking them using nuclear weapons.
RESPONSE
The claim is profoundly false. The Budapest Memorandum states that the signatories, including the Russian Federation, commit to “respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine” (article 1), to “refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, and that none of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine except in self defense or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations” (article 2), and to “refrain from economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by Ukraine of the rights inherent in its sovereignty and thus to secure advantages of any kind” (article 3).
Only article 5 refers to a “commitment not to use nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty”. However, it is clear that Russia has repeatedly violated the three other articles since at least 2009 (energy blackmail), in 2014 (illegal annexation of Crimea) and again since 2022 (invasion of Ukraine). However, by denying it, this disinformation story aims to portray Russia as a responsible and trustworthy actor in the event of peace negotiations over Ukraine. It is used to convey a false message suggesting that Ukraine can have no security guarantees without Russia.
This disinformation narrative, repeatedly pushed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the years, emerged again in August 2025 as Russia demanded to be part of any security guarantees given to Ukraine as a result of an eventual peace agreement. Talking about false allegations as if they were established facts while introducing minor variations, as in this case, is a frequent pro-Kremlin disinformation technique.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Russia has never violated the provisions of the Budapest Memorandum, that the accusations about Moscow violating the Budapest Memorandum are anti-Russian propaganda, that the Budapest Memorandum is only a political statement - no security guarantees for Ukraine, that Russia did not commit to protect Ukraine's territorial integrity, or that Russia keeps a constructive stance in negotiations in contrast to Ukraine’s theatre.