John MacDougall / Pool/EPA-EFEClick play to hear this article from Amazon PollyIt was a bold, bureaucratic response to a geopolitical provocation that would make even the most wizened Brussels civil servant proud. After the U.S. announced a deal on Russia's controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Ukraine renounced its 2,135-page Association Agreement. Two provisions were invoked to call for urgent consultations with both the European Commission, and the German government.These discussions could give Ukraine an opportunity to ask for sanctions to stop the pipeline's operation, or to demand a higher level of financial compensation than Washington or Berlin offer, as well as stricter guarantees.The move is unlikely to help Ukraine achieve its goal of destroying the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. This would transport natural gas from Russia to Germany and bypass the former routes through Ukraine. However, EU diplomats and senior officials stated that the move marked a turning point: A country with hopes of joining the EU had to be bold and demand that its rights are respected by Germany and the Commission, which is the largest and most powerful member of the EU. This was not because it was afraid of offending or angering its wealthy Western patrons.The move was made even more delicious by the fact that Ukraine cited legal language published in EU's official journal.Officially, EU officials did not respond to Ukraine's move. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, pledged to support Ukraine's status as a gas transit nation. Despite Germany's conflicting view, the Commission stated that Nord Stream 2 is not in the EU's collective interest and it was open to discussion with all its partners.However, diplomats and officials were privately giggling at Kyiv's smugness. The EU established the Eastern Partnership program in 2009 to make ex-Soviet states like Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova more European via comprehensive free trade agreements and political association agreements. As Kyiv insists, partnership can go both ways with Ukraine, Brussels suddenly gets more than it bargained.One senior EU official said that they are correct. My colleagues feel that the Association Agreements impose obligations on Ukraine rather than mutually.Senior EU diplomat stated that Kyiv's response was justifiable, but also possible ill-conceived and long-shot. The diplomat stated that the recent Ukrainian initiative was a smart one. However, I wonder why they didn't do it sooner.The pointed message of UkraineDmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, sent a note verbale to the EU last Wednesday. It stated that Article 274 of 2014 stipulates that the EU and its member countries are required to consult with Ukraine regarding energy infrastructure development and to cooperate in matters related to natural gas trade, security, and sustainability.Kuleba said that Article 337 stipulates that the parties have committed to creating effective mechanisms to deal with potential energy crises situations in a spirit of cooperation. This is especially important language in light of a Court of Justice of the European Union ruling, which states that solidarity is more than a loose term, but has specific legal weight when it comes to energy policy.The Nord Stream 2 scenario in Ukraine is interpreted as a requirement for the EU to follow its rules and hold its member countries to the same standards that it expects from aspiring members.Svitlana Zalishchuk is a former member and foreign affairs adviser to the deputy prime minster. It states in the document that the Association Agreement is bilateral and has been ratified and signed by all 27 EU member states. This imposes liability on both sides.Zalishchuk is now an international affairs advisor to Naftogaz's chief executive. "It is also the EU's obligation to use the same principles as those that work in the EU towards Ukraine."Zalishchuk stated that Germany's Nord Stream 2 case was in violation of provisions of the EU Third Energy Package. This legislative package governs the electricity and gas markets. Ukraine adopted it as its national law.She stated that "you cannot expect Ukraine to reform itself according to these European rules, and then violate these European laws." This is absurd, especially with Nord Stream 2.However, the diplomatic parry may have been a sign that Ukraine could possibly out-EU the EU. It also represented a different type breakthrough for the country which has been fighting Russian-backed aggression for seven years and won public recognition that it must protect its priorities, even if it infuriates some of its most trusted protectors.Senior diplomat stated that Ukrainians have been very disciplined and asked the most natural questions about their friends, such as who are they now?A consultant who worked closely with Ukrainian officials stated that Ukraine has "learnt a lot more and been less dependent." It is important that the Ukrainians show a bit of their identity, and not only being grateful recipients of technical assistance and donor assistance. While they aren't being unkind, I believe they act more like a country.It has been difficult for Ukraine to stand up on its own and refuse to accept the terms of U.S.-Germany Nord Stream 2 agreement, which many experts claim does not provide enough financial or security guarantees.Experts say that the West underestimates the security threat Ukraine faces if Russia doesn't use the pipeline it uses to transport gas across Ukraine to Europe. The pipeline could be made redundant, which would remove the greatest obstacle that Russian President Vladimir Putin has to support a larger-scale military attack or ordering an invasion.Although Ukraine's main goal is to destroy Nord Stream 2, Naftogaz suggests an alternative strategy that would protect Ukraine's transit revenue. EU gas traders have the option of having Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled supplier deliver orders at Ukraine's eastern frontier. This would mean that Gazprom's European customers would own the gas stored or transported in Ukraine's pipeline network, and not Russia.This strategy could win support from the EU countries most vocal about Russia's security threat, particularly Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.The stance of the Western powersThe security risks are not stopping the larger Western powers from prioritizing their own interests.Germany regards Nord Stream 2 a vital commercial project that will lower its energy costs. While opposing the project, U.S. President Joe Biden has resisted the imposition of sanctions. He cited the importance to rebuilding relationships with Germany and repairing the damage caused by former President Donald Trump. Biden's advisers see close ties to Germany as crucial to building a united Western position towards China, whom they consider a more important competitor than Russia.After Ukraine refused silence about the U.S./Germany Nord Stream 2 deal, the Biden administration announced a date for Volodymyr Zelenskiy's promised summer visit at the White House on August 30. This was in the quietest of summer when most people are not around Washington. Some supporter of Ukraine in Congress complained that Zelenskiy is not doing enough for Ukraine. They also accused Biden of trying stop U.S. lawmakers from listening to about Ukraine's situation.Zelenskiy's outspoken opposition to the U.S.–Germany deal is strikingly different to his response to Trump's impeachment scandal.Zelenskiy did not criticize the U.S. president despite being under pressure from Trump. He tried to withhold vital military aid until Ukraine investigated Joe Biden's son. In fact, Zelenskiy was even recorded in a telephone call, largely giving in to Trump's conspiracy theories.Zelenskiy's staff and his assistant tried their best to keep the scandal from affecting public opinion.Many officials in Kyiv believe that Ukraine has been treated better by Washington than by Brussels, given its unrelenting efforts to implement EU-approved democratic reforms.European leaders insist on a more-for-more approach to potential EU member states. They believe they will receive more benefits such as visa-free travel or greater access to the EU's single market.However, officials from Ukraine insist that they will only get more of the same.It's not only the EU. Following a summit in Brussels last week, a NATO communique acknowledged the aspirations for Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO, but only Ukraine was mentioned in a demand for further anti-corruption efforts. It stated: "The success in wide-ranging, sustainable and irreversible reforms including combatting corruption... will prove crucial."According to Ukrainian diplomats, Kyiv has not used the Association Agreement's provisions to request consultations before. In 2017, it did the same thing when it was concerned about the Nord Streams on land extension of the OPAL pipeline. Diplomats stated that Ukraine demanded talks with Germany quietly and allowed Poland to challenge Germany's decision to allow Gazprom more OPAL use. They said that Kyiv made this demand public, and not only with the Commission, but also with the German government.The Court of Justice of the EU sided with Poland in the OPAL dispute earlier this month and rejected an appeal by Germany.Zalishchuk stated that officials in Kyiv have closely followed the case and consider the decision an important precedent in their fight against Nord Stream 2."The court's main conclusion is amazing," she stated, noting that Poland had built its case around the idea that the EU's solidarity principle has an actual meaning in the energy sector, while Germany opposes such a definition. "But the EU court said that the EU's fundamental documents are more than words. "If there is a solidarity principle it must be understood in its core meaning that the infrastructures, capacities and capabilities that exist within the EU cannot be altered or violated."This article is part POLITICO's premium policy service, Pro Energy and Climate. 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