Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 highlighted the mistakes of post-Cold War western policy towards Russia and other post-Soviet states, which contributed to an environment conducive to Russian aggression, and culminated in the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II. This paper argues that the current geopolitical environment necessitates a return to a strategy of containment vis-à-vis Russia, with Ukraine’s EU integration as one of its cornerstones. After considering the geostrategic reasons in favour of Ukraine’s admission to the EU, the paper — drawing on battlefield dynamics analysis — examines how Ukraine’s EU accession could proceed under wartime conditions.
Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the shortcomings in the policies of major Western powers vis-à-vis Russia have created an environment susceptible to Russian aggression
