This former Soviet republic held a large amount of nuclear fissile material. When the Soviet Union broke up, nuclear weapons and material formerly under Moscow's control were in four separate republics: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. With U.S. support, these republics agreed to consolidate their Soviet-era nuclear warheads and material in Russia The U.S. provided money and logistical support for the transfers.
In 1994 Iranian nuclear experts visited an overlooked nuclear plant in Kazakhstan. Learning of this visit, the U.S. government--after months of sensitive negotiations--purchased the plant's nuclear material from Kazakhstan and transfered it to the U.S. In all, over a ton of highly enriched uranium was removed (enough to build 25 Hiroshima-size bombs). The evacuation operation--codenamed "Project Sapphire"--brought the uranium to the Department of Energy's facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Since 1991, Congress has appropriated over $1.5 billion to help former Soviet states protect and dismantle nuclear warhads and create safe storage for bomb grade nuclear materials. The program applies to Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

For more info see the timeline.

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