Ukraine Withdraws from Border Cooperation Memorandum with Belarus and Russia
President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree that ends Ukraine’s participation in a 1994 Memorandum of Understanding on border protection with Belarus and the Russian Federation, along with the termination of a separate 1994 agreement focused on border cooperation and interaction with the Russian authorities. The decree, published on the president’s official site, marks a formal step to disengage from these early post–Soviet border arrangements and to set a new course for Ukraine’s border security framework.
The withdrawal notice explicitly states the cessation of the Memorandum of Understanding on protecting the state borders shared by Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, which was originally signed in Moscow on April 15, 1994. It also cancels the bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation concerning cooperation and interaction in border matters, signed in Odessa on August 3, 1994. The document notes that the decree takes effect from the moment of its publication, ensuring an immediate shift in policy and enforcement at border points and related agencies.
News surrounding the decree also references ongoing parliamentary and government discussions linked to border security and international cooperation. In context, Taras Melnichuk, who represents the Ukrainian government in the Parliament, has previously appeared in discussions related to a separate agreement with Russia about investment protections and social assistance for families of soldiers who died in Afghanistan. This broader backdrop helps illustrate how Ukraine’s border policies intersect with broader security, diplomatic, and social commitments that the government has periodically reviewed in the legislature.