Ukraine's parliament wrote EU and NATO membership goals into the constitution
A look back at the Verkhovna Rada's constitutional amendments of 7 February 2019, weeks before a record-sized presidential race.
What did Ukraine's parliament commit the country to on 7 February 2019? On that date the Verkhovna Rada adopted amendments to the Constitution that fixed the country's course towards full membership of the European Union and NATO.
The vote came days after the Central Election Commission finished accepting documents from candidates for the Ukrainian presidential election. As of 3 February 2019, 90 people had submitted applications, a record number for Ukraine.
The international backdrop was also tense. On 1 February 2019, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Washington was suspending its role in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, an agreement made in 1987 with the USSR that banned both sides from possessing or testing nuclear and conventional intermediate-range missiles and their launchers. He cited Russian non-compliance. On 2 February 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended Russia's involvement in the treaty in response, and said Russia would start developing new missiles.
