Crisis of the eastern vector of foreign policy of Ukraine

Abstract

The discourse and the essence of the crisis of the eastern foreign policy vector of Ukraine are analysed in the article. It is proved that the issue of the Russian direction of Ukraine’s foreign policy has become relevant since its independence. A sharp surge in scientific and expert discourse occurred in 2014 and 2022, when, respectively, a hybrid war began and Russia’s open aggression against Ukraine. Based on the analysis of political science discourse, it was concluded that the primary crisis of the eastern vector of Ukraine’s foreign policy is primarily an objective factor in Russia’s aggressive imperial policy based on Eurasian revanchism – the desire to revive total influence in the post-Soviet space. It has been confirmed that the deployment of a Russian naval base in Sevastopol on Ukrainian territory, multiplied by the loss of nuclear status, and a sharp economic downturn have deprived Ukraine of prospects for adequate geopolitical status in a post-bipolar world order. After all, Ukraine has in fact agreed to deploy the Russian Black Sea Fleet on its sovereign territory. Such a position, according to scholars, contradicted the Concept of Foreign Policy of Ukraine of 1993, which stated the inadmissibility of the presence of armed forces of other states on its territory. All this led to the occupation of Crimea, Russia’s inspiration for the hybrid conflict in Donbass in 2014 and open armed aggression in 2022. Ukraine has made significant progress in its confrontation with revanchist Russia, against which large-scale sanctions have been imposed. Having received significant military and technical assistance from the West, Ukraine has thwarted Moscow’s strategic plans to strip it of its statehood and restore the Soviet Union to much of the post-Soviet space. In the course of the armed confrontation with Russia, Ukraine acquired geopolitical subjectivity and gained the prospect of joining the EU. It is also proved that Ukraine has significant prospects for obtaining a new Marshall Plan for the post-war reconstruction of the economy and infrastructure. At the same time, Ukraine must support the policy of technological transformation and not abandon the strategy of gaining full membership in NATO.