"Given how strongly the Kremlin is opposed to any suggestion of NATO membership for Ukraine, it felt like a surprise when Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country wouldn't be opposed should Ukraine join the EU. "As for Ukraine's membership of the EU, we have never objected to this," Putin said while visiting China. "As for NATO, this is another issue." Observers were quick though to note that Putin was likely trying to appear as a peacemaker to US President Donald Trump."
"Protests that started in 2013 in Kyiv, eventually led to the ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor YanukovychImage: Sergey Dolzhenko/dpa/picture alliance Why is Russia okay with Ukraine's EU membership? In 2013 when Russia-backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych suspended the signing of an association agreement with the EU, Ukraine erupted in widespread protests. They accused Yanukovych of yielding to Russian pressure and deliberately halting Ukraine's integration with the EU to keep it in the Kremlin's sphere of influence."
Vladimir Putin said Russia would not object to Ukraine joining the EU while maintaining strong opposition to NATO membership. Observers interpreted the remark as a tactic to appear conciliatory to US President Donald Trump and to delay Ukraine's access to rapid security guarantees. EU accession processes can take years or even decades, whereas NATO membership offers quicker, firmer defense commitments. Mass protests erupted in Kyiv in 2013 after pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych suspended signing an association agreement with the EU, and the protests eventually forced his ouster. Analysts note that Russia occupies much of Donbas and is pursuing pragmatically limited territorial aims while its military remains undermanned and undersupplied.
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