Polish-Ukrainian Relations: Russia and the Geopolitical Changes in the Region

Introduction

The conflict in Ukraine, which flared up at the turn of 2013 and 2014, has become the biggest challenge for security of Central and Eastern Europe since the fall of the USSR. Occupation of Crimea and war in Donbas also initiated a debate on the geopolitical conditions of US-EU-Russia relations. The confrontation divided the analysts and politicians into those who believe that the aggression was caused by the expansive attitude of the West and others who point to Russia's neo-imperial tendencies. For Poland the conflict is not only a challenge to security at eastern borders of the country, but it also shows the limitations of the Eastern Partnership project conducted as part of EU foreign policy. Contrary to the expectations, the conflict did not contribute to deepening of the verbally declared special partnership in Poland-Ukraine relations. It has shown fundamental differences in the group of EU and NATO countries in perception of geopolitical change in the region and the way it reacts to it.