IIRC, This was known when they signed with the EU.
This is exactly the sort of behavior that Yushenko and Tymoshenko got up to when they were in control after the first “Orange Revolution”. And it is the main reason I regret now having favored that movement. Kuchma was not that bad after all. He just liked to kill a journalist every now and then. The economy under Kuchma was growing, and Ukraine had good relations with both the west and Russia.
Ukraine is broke. Not as broke as the US, but they can’t print their way out. Hence the ‘shoot your own foot off’ tax structure.
In the end this is why a lot of Ukrainians will want to join Russia - because otherwise they won’t get much of a pension. Not to mention heat.
Perhaps a few more chats with Plugs Biden can help.