Although after the collapse of the Soviet Union Ukraine had a one-million-man army with the third largest nuclear weapon arsenal in the world. In 1992 Ukraine gave up all nuclear weapons. The country signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and joined as a non-nuclear state the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Ukraine became free of nuclear weapons in 1996.
The army forces were reduced to 300,000 soldiers after Ukraine signed the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.
Ukraine proclaimed itself to be a neutral state. Despite debates within Ukrainian society, the President cooperates with NATO and has plans for the country to join this organisation. Many people are against this decision that’s why in August of 2006 the leading political parties signed the Universal of National Unity, a non-binding document, in which they agreed that the question of joining NATO should be answered by a national referendum at some point in the future.