Ukraine Is the Same as It Ever Was

Ukraine celebrated the 25th anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union on Aug. 24, hosting a military parade through the streets of Kiev that culminated in a speech by President Petro Poroshenko. In his address to the nation, the president declared that Ukraine's historical policy of trying to balance its ties to Russia and the West was no longer viable. Instead, it would be permanently replaced by Kiev's current strategy of integrating with the rest of Europe. But that approach may not be as "irreversible" as Poroshenko suggests. In all likelihood, his country's future will continue to be shaped, as it has for the past quarter-century, by the evolving competition between the powers that lie to its east and west....