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How did Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine deal with the nuclear weapons on their territories?

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Strategic Arms Reduction Talks U.S. Pres. Barack Obama talking with Russian Pres. Dmitry Medvedev, just before the two leaders issued a joint statement about their continued cooperation on the New START Treaty, December 4, 2009.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine inherited significant portions of the Soviet nuclear arsenal, raising international concerns regarding the security and control of these weapons.12

To address these risks, the three nations participated in the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) framework. Under the 1992 Lisbon Protocol, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine committed to either destroying the nuclear weapons on their soil or transferring them to Russia. This process was supported by the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, a U.S.-led initiative that provided funding and technical assistance to ensure the safe dismantling, removal, and storage of nuclear materials.21

Through these collaborative efforts, all three countries successfully eliminated their nuclear arsenals:
* Kazakhstan: Disarmament was completed in 1995.3
* Belarus: Disarmament was completed in 1996.3
* Ukraine: Disarmament was completed in 1996.3

By 1994, the transfer of these weapons to Russia was largely underway, effectively mitigating fears regarding the proliferation and security of nuclear assets in these newly independent states.1