This unaltered story [1] was originally published on OpenDemocracy.org.
License [2]: Creative Commons 4.0 - Attributions/No Derivities/Int'l.
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Ukraine and the West: an insider’s view
By: []
Date: 2021-09
openDemocracy has published this article on Ukraine-West relations by a European diplomat on condition of anonymity.
Disappointment is lingering in Kyiv. Despite President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meetings with Angela Merkel and Joe Biden this past month, Ukraine is finding itself increasingly alone when it comes to a clear path for Euro-Atlantic integration – and opposition to Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline. That said, neither of these meetings contained public criticism of corruption, sanctions or the Minsk peace agreements with Russia, so Kyiv has some reasons to be satisfied.
The hope that Biden taking office in the White House would help return Washington’s attention to Ukraine after the country’s 2014 revolution has proved to be a vain one. The flip side is that in the context of frank admissions about how far Ukraine has to go in its journey to EU membership, Western demands for greater anti-corruption (or anti-oligarch) efforts are being seen in Kyiv as going hand-in-hand with the advancement of the West’s own interests in the country.
On top of this comes Afghanistan. Ukrainian commentators did not hold back their frustration in seeing billions of dollars worth of military equipment falling into Taliban hands. This amount has put the “unprecedented levels of support” that Kyiv has received from the West since 2014 into a different perspective, especially as most of the aid disbursed in Ukraine comes in the form of loans.
A more pragmatic relationship?
These developments have opened up questions about the relationship between Ukraine and the West, including the post-2014 revolution consensus on the country’s reform course and its commitment to reintegrate Donbas, the eastern region now in its seventh year of war.
This consensus is shaken, but not shattered. The return to the US-Ukraine strategic partnership has allowed a reboot in relations, and Ukrainian elites and society remain committed to European-Atlantic integration. Yet with disappointment comes sobriety, and Kyiv’s relations with the West are likely to become more pragmatic on a number of issues, including Donbas.
In 2019, Zelenskyy campaigned on a promise to bring peace to Donbas, just as his predecessor Petro Poroshenko did in 2014. But Zelenskyy has failed to make his promise a reality – Moscow has not been willing to amend the Minsk Agreements, which attempted to bring an end to the fighting. Direct engagement with Russia, and compromise on Donbas, has also been resisted by a vocal minority in Ukraine, including far-Right activists. Zelenskyy has not been able to overcome this opposition without greater support from the West, which has not been forthcoming due to a lack of trust in Ukraine’s greenhorn president. He also promised to raise the standard of living of Ukraine’s citizens – a promise impossible to deliver as long as Ukraine’s Western partners continue to push for austerity and debt repayment (which takes up a sizeable portion of the state budget) as priority.
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