What is at Stake in Ukraine Europe and the United States Need to Do what it Takes to Protect the Right of the Eastern Partnership Countries to Choose Their Future

Russia's annexation of Crimea and its efforts to destabilize the transitional government in Kyiv (Kiev) have re-framed the relationship between Europe and Russia in Europe's eastern neighborhood from an uneasy geopolitical balancing into full-on systemic conflict. The competition over Ukraine also puts the rest of the eastern neighborhood at significant risk. The EU together with the United States must now do what it takes to protect Ukraine's right to choose its future path. The Europeans will have to pay a price for Ukraine's transformation, and some EU member states will be more vulnerable than others to pressure from Russia. But the cost of not countering Russian attempts to destabilize Ukraine would be even higher. Germany will be a key player, given its economic and political power in the EU, its geographical location, and its special ties with Russia.