Talking Business: How to Keep Sothern Ukraine Engaged in European Integration?

The South of Ukraine, a diverse and multiethnic region, has always been a source of concerns and cautious optimism, but also a source of political anxiety when it came to European integration. Although after the Russian aggression against Ukraine the region has reconsidered its attitude towards the West and Russia, it hasn’t entirely embraced the pro-European agenda, while its attitudes and perceptions often remain out of Kyiv’s sight and attention.
Based on public discussions in Odesa and Kherson, as well as a series of interviews with local representatives, this paper by New Europe Centre is looking into the political, security and economic nuances of the two oblasts, which formally belong to the same region, but have their own peculiar attitudes towards political and economic developments in Ukraine.