What did Kyiv's CIS exit signal on 21 May 2018?
A look back at the days around 21 May 2018, when Ukraine formally ended its role in the Commonwealth of Independent States' statutory bodies.
What did Ukraine's move away from the Commonwealth of Independent States mean as of 21 May 2018? Two days earlier, on 19 May 2018, the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, signed a decree ending Ukraine's participation in the work of the CIS statutory bodies for good.
A formal break
The decree was explicit about its scope: it covered the statutory bodies of the organisation and brought Ukraine's participation in them to a definitive close. That put a formal end to a role Ukraine had held within the CIS framework.
The surrounding days
The decree came amid other developments tied to Russia. On 15 May 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the road section of the Kerch Strait Bridge, a 19-kilometre road-and-rail link between Crimea and Russia. The report placed it within the context of Russia's annexation of Crimea.
That annexation, carried out in February and March 2014, was described later as the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Against that background, the bridge opening and the CIS decree fell within a single week.
On 17 May 2018, Poland detained and expelled Yekaterina C., a Russian woman who belonged to a pro-Russian group that sought to stir up tension between Poland and Ukraine.
Reading the week
The three events were separate, and none was reported as causing another. Together they show Kyiv formally closing one channel of institutional engagement with a Russian-led body, while Russia's presence in Crimea was reinforced by new infrastructure and a neighbouring state acted against a group seeking to inflame Polish-Ukrainian relations.
