UKRAINE ‘IN BETWEEN’: THE ROAD TO WAR AND KYIV’S REACTION TO THE RUSSIAN AND EUROPEAN INITIATIVES IN THE POST-SOVIET SPACE

Abstract

The regional integration initiatives undertaken by the Russian Federation and the European Union (EU) in the post-Soviet space since the 1990s and the Ukrainian response to such initiatives constitute one of the main factors (and yet not sufficiently explored) behind the geopolitical tension involving the current war in Ukraine. This research shows how Kyiv's reaction towards the aspirations of both Russia and the European Union in the post-Soviet space spurred an acute competition between Moscow and the West, which set the scene for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.