Ukraine has entered into an historic pact with the European Union.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says this may be the “most important day” for his country since it became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Poroshenko made the comments after Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova signed trade and economic deals with the 28-nation European Union.

Expect to hear expressions of dismay from Moscow about the deals that align the three former Soviet republics more closely with the west.

Massive protests began in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv last November when then-president Viktor Yanukovych backed out of an economic pact with the European Union.