Ukraine’s European Integration in the Context of Russian Aggression

The full-scale invasion of Russia into the sovereign territory of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 marks the most significant armed conflict within the European continent since the end of the Second World War. In a paradoxical but perhaps foreseeable way, Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine has not only initiated a process of rethinking the European Union’s standard foreign and security policy towards Russia but has also led to an irreversible push for the integration of Ukraine into the legal order of the EU. As a result, Ukraine has received its long-awaited candidate status for EU membership. This article investigates the aspects of Ukraine’s search for geostrategic cooperation alternatives and the country’s determination of geopolitical priorities in light of the current military situation. The study is focused on the analysis of the legal framework of cooperation between Ukraine and the EU, as well as a review of the possible opportunities opened up for Ukraine through its status of a candidate for EU membership in the context of further reformation of the Ukrainian legal system and its harmonization with the EU acquis communautaire. This chapter also examines the legal characteristics of the current Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and the specifics of its application in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Particular attention is paid to possible options for the legal transformation of the Association Agreement, which include both the revision of the provisions and annexes to the current Agreement and the conclusion of a new agreement that would regulate Ukrainian-European relations because Ukraine has become an EU candidate country.