Ukraine is undergoing a monumental transformation. It is more complex and dramatic than anything we’ve seen on the European continent in recent years. None of the countries in Eastern Europe that underwent change in the post-Soviet period were as integrated within the Soviet space. And none were as victimized for choosing to integrate more with Europe. The transformation happening in Ukraine, a country of 45 million people, will have a substantial impact on the development of Europe as a whole.
Three years ago, during the Revolution of Dignity, throughout many cold, wintry weeks on the streets of Kyiv and across the country, Ukrainians rejected authoritarianism and a closed nation—a choice some of us paid for with our lives. Although we continue to pay the highest price for that choice—with thousands of lives lost to Russian aggression in the east and the Russian annexation of Crimea—our determination about the future direction of the country remains steadfast, facing westward toward European values, freedoms and institutions.
