It’s a long read but my old friend James Sherr’s new paper on the complexities of Yanukovych’s Ukraine is well worth reading in its entirety. Note, in particular, this, however:
Even in the unlikely event that Russia’s more ambitious schemes of integration succeed, Ukraine will remain a sovereign state, and it must be treated as one. The current authorities have a right to establish a different course from that of their predecessors. They have the right to diminish cooperation with the West or even end it, with or without consultation. But sovereignty does not confer a right to act without regard for the consequences. Without preaching or table pounding, the West needs to demonstrate that misguided policies will deprive Ukraine of the support and stimuli it needs to prosper, modernize and integrate with the rest of Europe. To do this, the West needs to remind itself that these goals serve its own interests. It also needs a policy.