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The Russo-Ukrainian war – which began in late February 2014 with the special operation in Crimea and which intensified as a result of the Russian large-scale invasion initiated eigth years later – evolved into the largest military conflict in post-war Europe. The conflict as such has impacted not only the European security architecture but also has had a great influence globally. This essay seeks to analyse its causes, course, and consequences free from emotions that often accompany war-like situations.

This article raises the issue of how the Russian Federation could benefit from the instrumental use of ethnic heterogeneity to pursue its geopolitical interests. The paper focuses on the recent case of a Polish-Ukrainian historical memory dispute which affected relations between Warsaw and Kyiv. The research focus is on how vulnerable Poland and Ukraine are to Russian active measures which potentially target not only national minorities but also groups of people who are only temporarily present in these states, such as economic migrants and tourists. An analysis is conducted of Russia's geopolitical objectives and its strategy toward Polish-Ukrainian relations in the broader context of the rivalry between Russia and the West. The analysis is conducted within the framework of the neorealist theory of international relations. The case study of specific events discloses how Russia could exacerbate tensions between nations and the role of ethnic heterogeneity in this regard. Against this backdrop, the author shows how Russia may challenge other states of the Euro-Atlantic community with similar active measures.

W niniejszym artykule zbadano, w jaki sposób Komisja Europejska podczas reformy Agencji Frontex próbowała uzyskać niezależność i zdobyć nowe kompetencje. Analiza mechanizmów próby supranacjonalizacji oraz jej końcowy efekt stały się głównym problemem badawczym niniejszego opracowania. Podstawą teoretyczną analizy jest model mocodawca-agent. W artykule dodatkowo zweryfikowano użyteczność eksplanacyjną modelu i jego główne założenia, przez co artykuł posiada również walor badania teoretycznego. Badanie wykazało, że próba uzyskania przez Komisję Europejską nowych kompetencji została efektywnie zablokowana przez państwa członkowskie. Udowodniono użyteczność modelu mocodawca-agent w badaniu prób usamodzielniania się agenta.

The Euromaidan revolution totally reoriented Ukraine's policy in both internal and external dimensions. The new Ukrainian authorities facing Russian aggression and domestic instability started to build a new national identity in order to consolidate social cohesion. Due to the fact that Kiev's new historical narrative glorifies the Ukrainian nationalists from the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) who contributed to the Holocaust of Jews and committed mass murders on the representatives of other nationalities, such a policy may be a serious obstacle in the context of Ukraine's external relations. The present article investigates particularly Israeli-Ukrainian relations after the Euromaidan revolution. The article analyses the impact of the new Ukrainian identity on bilateral relations as well as attempting to answer whether or not it may influence Kiev's cooperation with the European Union. The article contains a brief description of the new identity building process in the post-Euromaidan Ukraine with special consideration of those elements of it, which are related to "Ukrainian Nationalism".