Ukrainian protester clashes with police in Kiev.
Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby provided the following readout detailing a telephone conversation between Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Pavlo Lebedev. The call comes a day after violent clashes between police and protesters in the capitol Kiev, left dozens dead and thousands wounded.
The release reads as follows:
“Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel spoke by phone with Ukrainian Minister of Defense Pavlo Lebedev this afternoon.
“Minister Lebedev assured the secretary that the Ukrainian armed forces remain the protectors of the Ukrainian people, that their deployment inside the country has been focused on protecting defense facilities and equipment, and that his forces would not use arms against the Ukrainian people.
“Secretary Hagel said he was encouraged by the recent news that the Ukrainian government and the opposition leadership had reached an agreement on how to move forward without further violence. He commended the government’s decision to keep the military on the sidelines of the crisis thus far and urged continued restraint.
“Minister Lebedev expressed his appreciation for U.S. involvement in negotiations to resolve the situation in Ukraine” (Source: Pentagon http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=16548).
Of particular concern are Ukraine’s possession of the what is considered the 3rd largest nuclear arsenal in the entire world.
There are currently 176 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers with some 1,240 warheads on Ukrainian territory. This force consisted of 130 SS-19s, each capable of delivering six nuclear weapons, and 46 SS-24s, each armed with ten nuclear weapons. An additional 14 SS-24 missiles were present in Ukraine, but not operationally deployed with warheads. Several dozen bombers with strategic nuclear capabilities were armed with some 600 air-launched missiles, along with gravity bombs. In addition, as many as 3,000 tactical nuclear weapons rounded out an arsenal totaling approximately 5,000 strategic and tactical weapons.
See related article: Ukraine unrest: At least 21 protesters dead in clasheshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26268620