In what President Petro Poroshenko has declared "the most important day" for his country since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine signed a trade deal with the European Union Friday.

According to European Commission data, Ukraine should benefit from the deal by more than one billion euros ($1.4 billion) per year, money the Ukrainian government has pledged to use for reform of its institutions and business environment.

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The 1,200 page agreement is the same deal that Poroshenko's predecessor Victor Yanukovich refused to sign last November, under pressure from Russian Federation president Vladimir Putin. Putin reiterated earlier this month that Ukraine risks the loss of tariff-free exports to other former Soviet satellites if Ukraine's new alliance with the Western European bloc takes a toll on Russia's economy. Analysts, however, predict there will be little change in the trade volume between the two nations.

Indeed, the greatest implications of this historic deal may be political, with Poroshenko hailing the agreement as a "sovereign choice in favor of future membership in the EU."

Read the full story at the L.A. Times.

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