On November 21st, 2013 Ukraine’s government, just a week before 3rd Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius decided to suspend preparations for signing an Association Agreement (AA) with EU, prioritizing a closer ties with Russia. Decision of Ukraine was an unexpected for everyone, as since independence of Ukraine, it has been repeatedly stating the European Choice as the priority of its’ foreign policy. The ENP framework and Eastern Partnership initiative was the approach of EU, how to make an impact on the domestic policy of Ukraine. However, in the area of EU monopoly – ENP framework countries - appeared a new significant player – Russia’s with Customs Union. Ukraine became a ”battlefield” of shared interests between EU and Russia. More than that, Ukraine’s prefered multilateral approach with many foreign policy vektors at the same time was not acceptable not for EU, neither for Russia.
Why Ukraine decided to suspend preparations for signing AA, is a main problem question of the thesis. 2 most popular explanations in the collected literature are examined through the lens of neorealism: official statement of the government of Ukraine about national security interests of the state and Russia’s pressure on Ukraine.