By Steven PiferFollowing the Soviet Union’s collapse, Ukraine and Russia maintained relations that at times were testy, but their differences largely appeared manageable. That changed in 2014, when the Kremlin used military force to seize Crimea and then supported armed separatism in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. As a result, attitudes within Ukraine toward Russia have hardened to a considerable degree, and the appeal of Western institutions such as the European Union and NATO has grown.
A Testy Relationship with Russia
The end of the Soviet Union in 1991 left newly independent Ukraine with a number of difficult issues with Russia: …read more
Source: Brookings