Ukraine finally signs the EU deal that started it all

If it were November, when the original agreement was supposed to be signed, it may have generated headlines about Europe’s attention swinging eastward, Ukraine’s efforts to reform and create a culture of rule and law based on European values, and even about Russia accepting Ukraine’s right to work with both East and West simultaneously.

But the deal signed today – a watered-down version which doesn’t yet address trade integration into the EU – has been overshadowed by the worst diplomatic crisis with Russia that Europe and the US have faced in at least two decades. The EU is in a frenzy to reduce its dependence on Russian energy; the Baltic states are afraid of Russia’s encroachment on their political and physical territories; and the entire world is wondering what Russia intends to do next

In short, the crisis sparked by the deal has moved far beyond Ukraine’s economic and political fate.

In November, Ukraine leader Viktor Yanukovych walked away from the EU association agreement under financial pressure from Russia, and angry Ukrainians poured into the streets in a show of pro-European fervor that then turned into a deadly standoff. The West sanctioned both Mr. Yanukovych (who has since been impeached and fled the country) and, in recent weeks, also Russia after it took over Ukraine’s Crimea.