Why's Buddha frowning

Would it have been so simple for Russia to crush Ukraine if it hadn't given up its nuclear stockpile in 1994? India was prescient to declare itself a nuclear-armed state

Strategic studies quiz: Why was the code to inform Indira Gandhi of the successful Pokhran-1 nuclear test “Buddha is smiling”? While you think about it, let’s switch to Ukraine.

By the time you read this, Kyiv will have capitulated. The question that’s been asked often in the past few days, and will continue to echo for decades to come, is: Would it have been so simple for Vladimir Putin’s Russia to crush Zelenskyy’s Ukraine if it hadn’t given up its nuclear stockpile after the Budapest accord in 1994?

This was done in return for security guarantees by the US, Europe, and Russia.