What happened in 2021 on Ukraine's way to the EU and NATO? Did the last year become a step forward or a step backward?

European Pravda has selected 15 pieces of "zrada", "peremoha" and "benteha" in the article by editor Sergiy Sydorenko.

Five victories ("peremohas") are:
1. The Crimean Platform
2. Supply of Bayraktars
3. Successful Ukrainian evacuation from Afghanistan
4. Development of localization law
5. Reshuffle in some neighboring states.

The latter concerns the change of government in Moldova and the Czech Republic. These events did not depend on Ukraine, but they are of paramount importance for our European future. Our ambassador to Czechia recently spoke about his expectations in this respect.

This is not a complete list of 2021 win-stories for Ukraine (other examples are "Scythian gold" court ruling; historical ECHR's decision on Crimea or the signature of the 7th declaration in support of Ukraine's accession to the EU).

However, none of these wins are related to the pro-European reforms.

While reforms-related losses are there. For example, the sad saga around the selection of the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

The complete list of the five key Ukraine losses are as follows:
1. Zelensky's attempts to deceive the United States
2. Problematic implementation of the reforms
3. Ex-judge Chaus's kidnapping
4. Developments in Belarus
5. Developments in Georgia.

In 2021, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko managed to recovered after the mass protests, while continuing to cede the country's sovereignty in favor of Putin's Russia. Developments in Georgia are very worrying: domestic political conflict is increasingly hampering Georgia's rapprochement with the EU and NATO. Description of other losses are in the article.

There are also five shortlisted foreign policy "bentehas" where consequences are not clear yet:
1. Donbas
2. Relations with the United States
3. Reform of the SBU, the Ukrainian Security Service
4. Negotiations with the EU on the revision of the Association Agreement
5. German elections plus the Nord Stream-2.

Read more (in Ukrainian) in the piece by Sergiy Sydorenko, "Not Only Wins: How Ukraine's European Policy Changed in 2021".