Ukraine has taken decisive steps to end its remaining formal agreements with the Russian Federation, Belarus and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The Cabinet of Ministers has approved several draft laws that propose the termination, withdrawal and denunciation of key international treaties, signalling a clean break from historic ties with aggressor states.
According to Taras Melnychuk, the Cabinet’s representative in the Verkhovna Rada, the legislation includes the draft law titled “On Termination, Withdrawal and Denunciation of International Treaties of Ukraine Concluded by the Government of Ukraine with the Governments of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus and within the Commonwealth of Independent States.”
Among the agreements to be terminated are an energy resource debt settlement accord with Russia from 1997, and a 2000 deal on gas supply and payments. A 2002 agreement involving a Russian state loan to finance nuclear power plant completion in Ukraine is also set to be revoked. Another cancelled protocol involves Belarus and aimed to phase out exemptions from a so called free trade regime, agreed in 2004.
Ukraine will also initiate withdrawal from cooperation deals within the CIS. These include agreements on mineral resource development (1997), protection against false trademarks (1999), and the handling of narcotic substances (2011). Additionally, Ukraine will denounce the 1993 CIS agreement that outlines mechanisms to support industrial cooperation among member states.
This legislative move follows similar actions in September 2024, when Ukraine began cutting ties with Moscow and its allies across military, financial, energy, and healthcare sectors. The strategy underscores Ukraine’s firm pivot away from Russian influence and towards full integration with democratic Western institutions.
