If there is one thing of which the EU can legitimately be proud, it is the way that it has helped anchor the countries of Eastern Europe in the West. Under the circumstances, closer EU trade ties with Ukraine ought to be viewed as nothing but a good thing.

But there’s a problem.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

MOSCOW—Russia is moving to clamp down on imports from Ukraine if its ex-Soviet neighbor signs a landmark free-trade and political-association deal with the European Union, a senior adviser to President Vladimir Putin said.
The comments Sunday by Sergei Glazyev, a senior economic advisor to Mr. Putin, signal a more forceful approach by the Kremlin to the potential deal, which could anchor Ukraine, for centuries ruled from Moscow, more firmly in the West. Moscow is urging Ukraine, a Texas-sized country sandwiched between Russia and the EU, to join a rival trade bloc that it is forming with other former Soviet republics. Russia last week began tougher checks at the border that Ukrainian exporters said stalled shipments and caused serious financial losses.
Mr. Glazyev said Sunday that those checks were “preventative measures” in preparation for changes in customs procedures if Ukraine signs the EU pact.
“We are preparing to toughen customs administration in case Ukraine takes this suicidal step and signs the association agreement with the EU,” Mr. Glazyev was quoted as saying by state news agency RIA Novosti.
Moscow has long dangled the carrot of cheaper gas prices—which Kiev says it needs to kick-start its spluttering economy—in return for Ukraine joining the customs union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has indicated so far, however, that he prefers the EU deal.
Ukraine’s exports to Russia totaled 12.3 billion euros ($16.4 billion) last year, according to EU data, second only to the 12.9 billion euros of goods sent to the EU….

Russia joined the World Trade Organization not so long ago. I’m not entirely sure it’s got into the spirit of the whole thing.