The European Union’s Response to Russian Aggression against Ukraine (2014–2021)

Abstract

The article examines the European Union’s response to Russian aggression against Ukraine during 2014–2021. It is established that at the political level, the European Union strongly condemned the unprovoked violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by the Russian Federation. Despite the rather lengthy ratification of the Association Agreement by the EU Member States and the postponement of the timely launch of the free trade area due to Russian opposition, the European Union introduced a regime of autonomous trade preferences for Ukraine, which became a concrete and tangible measure of economic support for Ukraine. The Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as the signing and ratification of the Association Agreement, did not in any way affect the EU’s position on the prospects for Ukraine’s membership in the European Union. At the end of 2021, Ukraine’s membership in the EU was not under discussion. The European Union provided Ukraine with significant macro-financial assistance. These funds were used to reduce external financial pressure on Ukraine, improve its balance of payments, and meet its budget needs. The moral significance of the visa-free regime that the European Union introduced with Ukraine in 2017 cannot be underestimated. It should be noted that the EU made the decisions regarding macro-financial assistance and visa liberalization with an understanding of the difficult situation that had developed in Ukraine since the beginning of 2014. It was a genuine manifestation of support for the Ukrainian state. In response to the Russian occupation of Crimea, the first sanctions were introduced in March 2014 against Russian officials involved in actions that violate the territorial integrity of Ukraine. This reaction of the European Union turns out to be too cautious because it is difficult to imagine that from the very beginning, the Crimean events and the subsequent Russian invasion of Eastern Ukraine took place without the participation and approval of the Russian leadership. The situation partially changed only after the shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane and the deaths of EU citizens.

It is concluded that against the backdrop of Russian aggression, the European Union supported Ukraine politically and economically in every possible way and encouraged the Ukrainian leadership to carry out the necessary reforms through the following mechanisms: Association Agreement, macro-financial assistance, Visa Liberalization Action Plan. At the same time, the EU’s sanctions policy against Russia was relatively passive. Such a hesitant response by the EU to Russia’s brutal violation of the UN Charter encouraged Moscow to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.