The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement (AA) has been negotiated and concluded at a time when Ukraine was not yet recognised as a candidate country for EU membership. Any concrete perspectives on Ukraine’s potential accession to the EU were carefully avoided in the preamble and the text of the agreement. Accordingly, the AA has been defined as an instrument of ‘integration without membership’, notwithstanding its comprehensive scope and certain innovative provisions regarding the establishment of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). In light of the new (geo-)political context following Russia’s full-scale military aggression since February 2022 and the recognition of Ukraine as a candidate for EU membership in June 2022, the question arises to what extent the AA is still adapted to the new situation. Proceeding from an analysis of the scope, content and implementation of the agreement, it is argued that the AA can be regarded as a key instrument on the road towards Ukraine’s future EU membership. This is illustrated with respect to three distinct areas that are not exhaustively dealt with in the AA but nevertheless pose important challenges on Ukraine’s path to EU membership (i.e. trade liberalisation beyond the DCFTA, movement of persons and protection of minorities).