Moldova and Ukraine’s accelerated accession to EU marks Russia’s waning influence

Invasion of Ukraine has fast-tracked timetable for the countries to join bloc after years of economic warfare'

• European Commission backs talks on Ukraine and Moldova EU membership
• Russia-Ukraine war - latest news updates

Long before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow had already been accused of launching an economic war against its neighbours.

With bullying, cajoling and outright threats, the Kremlin's campaign to warn its former Soviet subjects away from the EU involved telling them they would be blocked from the Russian market and its own customs union, and face cutoffs of crucial supplies of natural gas.