After more than half a year of unrest that has divided Ukraine and Eastern Europe, its new president has signed a trade agreement that will tie Kiev closer with the rest of the European Union.

On Friday, Ukraine's new president, Petro Poroshenko, fulfilled one of his campaign promises by signing a trade agreement with the E.U. that will bring Ukraine closer to Western Europe. Poroshenko flew to Brussels to sign the deal despite Russia's vehement opposition.

In November of last year, the previous Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted from power and fled to Russia after backing away from the E.U. deal. Now that Ukraine has made its westward overtures a reality on paper, Russia's displeasure with her neighbor will appear more clearly.

Russia has already announced there will be "serious consequences" after the signing of the deal, according to The New York Times. However, the E.U. will not proceed with planned sanctions against Russia since many E.U. member states fear economic retaliation from the eastern powerhouse. Nonetheless, the day cements the European Union's ability to snatch states out of Russia's sphere of influence.

"This is a really historic date for Ukraine," President Poroshenko told a news conference in Brussels. The Times reported he also expressed the wish that in the future Ukraine will join the E.U., though that is not currently being planned.

"The signature of this agreement signifies new investment, new rules without corruption and new markets, the biggest market in the world," Poroshenko said.

Russia, according to CNN, has stated that it will defend its economic interest if it is "negatively affected" by the new economic union. However, looming over the whole proceeding has been the unrest in eastern Ukraine. Kiev and Moscow have agreed that something more than sanctions has to be done, but neither side agrees on a plan. Russia simply asks for continuous negotiations.

"Ukraine should embark on the path of peace, dialogue and accord. The priority is to conduct substantial talks between the authorities in Kiev and the southeast," Putin is quoted as saying. "We stand for the complete termination of bloodshed on the whole territory of Ukraine, including along our borders."

In an attempt to appear conciliatory, Poroshenko approved an extension of the ceasefire, which was originally intended to expire Friday night. Bloomberg Businessweek reported that Poroshenko has extended it by 72 hours.