Ukraine’s rapid western shift, booming growth in Lviv, and strengthened European integration are undermining Vladimir Putin’s long-standing efforts to keep the country within Russia’s sphere.
Ukraine’s westward transformation is accelerating despite Russia’s continued invasion, according to a report from UKRAINEALERT. The analysis states that Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion in 2022 after years of political interference and military aggression failed to halt Kyiv’s shift toward Europe. Now, as the war nears its fifth year, the report notes that “there is very little to indicate that Putin’s hard line tactics are working.”
While Russia occupies around 20 percent of Ukraine, the report says opinion across the remaining territory is “overwhelmingly hostile to Moscow” and strongly pro-European. The invasions of 2014 and 2022 are described as “watershed moments” that reshaped Ukrainian identity and pushed the nation decisively westward.
Western Ukraine, particularly Lviv, is highlighted as the biggest beneficiary of this geopolitical shift. According to the report, Lviv’s population has grown by about a quarter since 2022, reaching roughly one million, while its real estate market and investment levels now rival Kyiv. The city has also become a key diplomatic hub, hosting embassies and high-level international events.
Major EU-linked infrastructure projects, including new European-gauge rail lines, are strengthening western Ukraine’s role as a gateway to the EU. The report concludes that Putin’s invasion has “backfired spectacularly,” accelerating Ukraine’s integration with Europe and increasing the likelihood that he will be remembered as the Russian leader who lost Ukraine.