The foreign policy of Ukraine is the strategic approach

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

takes to its relations with foreign nations, cooperation with

international organization An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own le ...

s, promotion of its

national interests The national interest is a sovereign state's goals and ambitions – be they economic, military, cultural, or otherwise – taken to be the aim of its government. Etymology The Italian phrase ''ragione degli stati'' was first used by Giovanni del ...

and protection of the rights of its citizens and

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

abroad. Ukraine's foreign policy is guided by a number of key priorities. The strategic goals of Ukraine's foreign policy include forming a relationship of strategic partnership with the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

and

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

through European and Euro–Atlantic integration, cooperation with member countries of the CIS and

GUAM Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

, active engagement with the UN and other

international organizations An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own leg ...

, effective participation in the

global economy The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans in the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumption, econ ...

with the maximum protection of national interests, and the transformation of Ukraine into a

regional power In international relations, regional power, since the late 20thcentury, has been used for a sovereign state that exercises significant power within its geographical region.Joachim Betz, Ian Taylor"The Rise of (New) Regional Powers in Asia, ...

European integration

European integration is a key priority, which accumulates a whole set of domestic and foreign policy efforts of Ukraine in order to move closer to the

and create the necessary preconditions for future accession to the bloc. An integral part of Ukraine's European integration course was the provision of diplomatic support for the completion of Ukraine's accession to the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

, which took place on May 16, 2008. In 2006, Ukraine was proposed to move to the first stage of integration with the EU with the creation of a free trade area. Currently, the state of dialogue on Ukraine's cooperation with the European Union is based on the implementation of a specially developed Strategy for EU Integration into the Ukrainian economy and the gradual implementation of the European Policy Action Plan. These measures mainly involve reforming most economic and social areas in order to move closer to Europe. Ukraine is already actively cooperating between with European Union in many strategically important areas, such as foreign trade (accounting for about 33% of domestic foreign trade), security, financial institutions, space research and others.

Ukraine–NATO relations

Ukraine–NATO relations Relations between Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) started in 1991 following Ukraine's independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Ukraine-NATO ties gradually strengthened during the 1990s and 2000s, and Ukra ...

– protection of Ukraine's security interests, participation in the creation of the Euro–Atlantic area of stability and security, gradual integration into NATO. This goal should be achieved through the use of cooperation mechanisms with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, in particular the Action Plan and the Annual Target Plans (since 2005 – in the framework of the so–called intensified dialogue). On July 30, 2014, the

US Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

passed a bill that gives Ukraine,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

the status of non–NATO allies. Now, in the event of direct military aggression against these countries, the United States can bring its troops into these countries to protect them from external aggression.

Ukraine–United States relations

As of May 1, 2009, there were 120 signed and ready to sign agreements and other joint documents between Ukraine and the United States. In July 2014, a document on the recognition of Ukraine as an ally of the United States (along with Georgia and Moldova) was submitted to the US Senate.

Ukraine–Russia relations in 2018

According to a sociological survey conducted by the All–Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion in February 2018, 40% of Russians surveyed assess Russia's relations with Ukraine as tense, and 22% as hostile. At the same time, 40% of respondents believe that friendly, allied relations will eventually recover. Four years after the change of power in Ukraine, about three–quarters of Russians (72%) follow the events, including 17% reported that they closely monitor the situation (this proportion is significantly higher among the older generation of 36% aged 60+ and 21% aged 45–59 years, than among young people, 2% among 18–34 year olds). If the citizens of the Russian Federation estimated February 2014 as a revolution, a coup d'état (26%), less often as a planned provocation (8%) or a catastrophe for the country (8%), the current state of affairs is seen as a mess (16%), civil war (12%), crisis (8%). From the events that occurred as a result of the Maidan, Ukraine lost – most Russians (75%) think that more than half of them are in all socio–demographic groups. The fact that those events did not change anything by their very nature, 13% converge and only 2% believe that Ukraine won. Current relations between Ukraine and Russia are characterized by 40% of Russians as tense (this share is highest among young people, 47% in the group from 18 to 24 years), 22% – as hostile (the respondents are more likely to think aged 45 to 60, 26%), 13% consider them to be cool and 11% neutral. Almost half of the respondents believe that during the last year the relations between the two countries did not become either better or worse (49%), in the opinion of each third they only worsen (34%). Prospects for the restoration of ties between Ukraine and Russia are assessed more positively by the Russians: 40% are sure that friendly, allied relations will be restored (46% are more optimistic about this estimate, 35% share this opinion among women), almost 38% that sooner or later the interaction of our countries will normalize, but one in 10 respondents (10%) will never be, never believes in the restoration of relations.

Development of bilateral relations

At the bilateral level, Ukraine seeks to use the full potential of the strategic partnership based on mutual interest and common approaches to the development of relations with the United States, Russia and Poland; to achieve and maintain good relations with neighbouring countries in an atmosphere of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. Ukraine will achieve its goal of promoting European values in the region, in particular through active participation in resolving frozen conflicts. This should sum up its foreign policy as a beneficiary one..

Participation in international organizations

Ukraine pursues an active multilateral policy within the framework of universal and regional international organizations. Participation in the UN is aimed primarily at advancing Ukraine's interests in the process of making the most important decisions for the entire world community. Activities within the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

will remain an important factor in complementing and enhancing regional and overall stability and security in Europe.

Trade expansion

An important priority to ensure Ukraine's strategic interests is economic expansion in both traditional and new markets for Ukrainian goods and services in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Protection of the rights of Ukrainians abroad

The protection of Ukrainian citizens abroad and the rights of the Ukrainian diaspora is a constant priority of foreign policy and a special focus of diplomatic and consular institutions of Ukraine.

Dual Citizenship

In June 2025, Ukraine legalized multiple citizenship.

References

External links

Mission and Strategy of Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
{{Authority control

* Politics of Ukraine