Putin used Olympics to get Ukrainian president to attack Kiev protesters

[kpete]

Putin used Olympics to get Ukrainian president to attack Kiev protesters
As a result, Kiev is now in flames, and many are talking about the prospect of a civil war.


Here’s a snippet buried in the NYT’s report last night on the carnage in Ukraine:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/19/world/europe/ukraine.html?_r=1

Mr. Yanukovych had repeatedly pledged not to use force to disperse protesters, but after meeting President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, he had clearly changed his mind.

Keep in mind that this all began when Ukraine’s president backed out of establishing closer ties with the EU, due to pressure from Moscow. Everyday Ukrainians, who have no desire to re-join the Soviet Union, were ticked, and took to the streets in protest.

More from Joerg Forbrig of the German Marshall Fund:

Many in Ukraine feel today that they have reached a final junction. They do not want to miss what may be the last opportunity in many years to come for a principal, some even say civilizational, choice between Europe and Russia, democracy and dictatorship, sovereignty and subordination, prosperity and poverty, modernity and mayhem. Indeed, the contrast between what Ukraine can expect from her Western and Eastern neighbors could not be starker.

http://americablog.com/2014/02/putin-used-olympics-get-ukrainian-president-attack-kiev-protesters.html