Ukraine is close to one traditional NATO member, Turkey, and shares a border with Poland and Hungary, recently invited in. As Ukraine goes, so goes stability in the region. It's in everybody's interest that Ukraine should have a collaborative relationship with the European structures, be they security, economic, or political. America is at the forefront of efforts to bring Ukraine further into the West's security network. Ukraine ranks as the third-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, after Israel and Egypt.
Ukrainian officers study in the United States.
Ukrainian ships could not have gone to sea for practice in recent years without U.S. aid provided under the Partnership for Peace program. Sea Breeze itself was financed almost entirely by the United States. Ivan Zayets, a member of the Ukrainian parliament who belongs to the nationalist party Rukh, says the country should seize its NATO opportunity. But Kiev's westward move is a sideways step, not a headlong dash. Ukraine remains deeply dependent on good relations with Russia.