For those who don’t know, folks in the Ukraine are wanting closer ties with the EU. Yanukovich is pro-Russian and wanted a loan from Russia instead. That’s part of what started it. Russia, of course, wants to own the Ukraine and other former satellite Soviet countries again.
“folks in the Ukraine are wanting closer ties with the EU”
In the west, that’s true. In the east, its the opposite. Can’t help but be reminded of Castro’s guerrillas fighting the Batista regime. Guess which side FEMEN fights for?
I’ve been in contact via email and twitter with Ukrainians in the Square, Kiev, Odessa, Uzhgorod, and Dnepropetrovsk in the last three days. I’m told that the military (Ukrainian?) went through Dnepropetrovsk on their way to Kiev. At this point all significant protest is in the central section of Kiev. All have used the same words to describe the ordeal. They use sad, corrupt, illegal, desire for independence, freedom, and liberty. They are peaceful people that are caught in a corrupt situation. Yanukovych is a Putin puppet who was removed fm office for corruption in 2004. I believe that the crackdown will intensify around February 6 when the world is distracted by Sochi.
Gwjack
Neither the EU or Russia have the best interests of Ukrainians in mind.
That was the initial impetus behind the protests. At this point, it is becoming more of a fight against their anti-National government regardless of what compromises it offers. We should understand that for us the EU is nothing much better than the USSR; but what the Ukraine wants, at least its Western part, is a cultural choice for Europe, -- no matter what gang of nincompoops rule Europe today. It is happening at the same time as Russia, their partner of old, is making the opposite choice for Asia. Ukraine does not want to be dragged into eurasianism.