More recent Ukrainian protests

Thousands of rioters and protesters have returned to Independence Square in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, two months after demonstrations against President Viktor Yanukovych first began. According the CNN, 28 people have been killed so far. The more recent protests are not as extensive as the ones two months before, which protested the president’s decision to reject a trade deal for a partnership with the European Union.

These more recent protests have concerned three events regarding the president. Yanukovych signed a new law which limited basic freedoms such as internet restrictions, limiting freedom of the press, and imposing strict rules on peaceful assemblies, the citizens called it the “law of dictatorship”. Secondly, the government is viewed as becoming closer with Russia despite that being the against public opinion. Russian PresidentVladimir Putinallegedly offered Ukraine $15 billion as an economic stimulus and also gave Ukraine a 33% discount on natural gas being imported from Russia into Ukraine.. Ukraine’s politics have been divided into two sides ever since they first achieved independence, because every politician since then has chosen either one “side” or the other, with the other side hating that politician which isn’t on their “side.” To this day, the division persists, which has caused political corruption, an unstable economy, poor standards of living, and essentially, a very demographically divided country. Street protests regarding a mere trade pact have now swelled into a movement much larger than that. Now, citizens are calling for Yanukovych to not only loosen his grip, but for a modified constitution. Ukraine is the largest nation which divides Russia and the European Union, which makes Ukraine a major pawn between the East and the West. Russia denies that they have any influence over Ukraine, yet they are offering the country incentives to partner with them instead of the European Union.

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