President Yanukovych had to flee the country due to the Maidan Revolution. Since then, Russian President Putin has considered the regime in Ukraine illegitimate. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and provided full support to pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Countries such as France and Germany tried to maintain relations by talking to Putin. German Chancellor Merkel eliminates any hope of Ukraine joining the European Union. Germany began importing more gas from Russia. French President Macron invited Putin to the Palace of Versailles in 2017 to restore normal relations.
The Baltic states and Poland criticized this lax (from their point of view) stance. They didn’t trust Russia one bit. The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 proved their belief correct. Since then, the position of almost all countries has changed.
On June 16, 2022, German Chancellor Schulz, French President Macron, and (then) Italian Prime Minister Draghi went to Kiev with a message: Ukraine must be recognized as a candidate to become an EU member state. A few days later, the 27 member states decided to grant this status to Ukraine.
It is about moral support for Ukrainian soldiers who risk their lives on the front to defend Ukraine’s European dream. There are also geopolitical considerations at play. A European Ukraine is better for EU security than a country neighboring Poland and directed by Moscow.
The prospect of membership in the European Union obligates Ukraine to fight corruption and oligarchs, and this is also in the interest of the European Union. This is also why enlargement to include nominated member states from the Western Balkans is once again at the top of the European agenda: enhancing stability in the region surrounding the EU and reducing Russian and Chinese interference.
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