Wholly past is almost a decade of the program continued to eliminate the strategic offensive weapons in Ukraine, during which time the 43rd Strategic Missile Army, the most powerful strategic nuclear-missile organization in the world, ceased to exist. Gone also is the nuclear weaponry itself as well as everything connected with it. Meanwhile, there is still no end to arguments concerning the issue whether it was right what out country has done by kissing the nuclear monster goodbye. Regrettably, some of the publications on the subject fail to be impartial in throwing light on the actual conditions and circumstances of the launching up and implementing the program and its importance for Ukraine. Such is the opinion of the missilery men who are called to speak it up here. The purpose of their statement is to dispel the mythological clouds seeded by the above publications by the way of expressing the viewpoint of their own. WHO WAS THAT WE CAPITULATED TO? Myth number 1 is about Ukraine showing the white flag in the nuclear-missile confrontation that was allegedly initiated by the military themselves. Neither Ukraine, nor its two missile-armed divisions comprising the 43d Strategic Missile Army capitulated or were not going to. We made threats to no one with the nuclear weaponry in the same way as nobody had delivered ultimatum to our country as to its elimination. During 1991 to 1994, at the time of the political decision making concerning dismantling of the nuclear weaponry, one should have had the political will and foresight, being conscious of the immense responsibility for the consequences of such a step for this country. After all, in settling such overriding issues, the third country in the world as to its nuclear potential should have been guided not by the ambitions, being nostalgic for the past, but by the rule of reason. Needless is to say what a mass of political, economic and social problems had been connected with the decision. The first thing to do wa ... Читать далее