By JANE PERLEZ
Published: Wednesday, June 5, 1996
New York Times

Ukraine officially completed its nuclear disarmament today with a scattering of sunflower seeds by the top defense officials of the United States, Russia and Ukraine.

The ceremony at the Pervomaisk base, where more than 80 underground silos housed SS-19 missiles aimed at the United States, marked the end of a three-year process under which Ukraine gave up the nuclear arsenal it inherited from the Soviet Union. On Saturday the last of 1,900 strategic nuclear warheads were loaded on a train and sent to Russia for destruction.

Defense Secretary William J. Perry, who has coaxed Ukraine's disarmament along by frequent visits here -- today was his fourth inspection of Pervomaisk -- said sunflowers instead of missiles in the soil would insure peace for future generations.

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