Ukraine Crisis
By: Jordan Scott
How did the unrest in Ukraine begin?
President Viktor Yanukovych had made promises to make agreements with the EU about politics and trade. Before the violence, he stopped talking to the EU and all of the agreements. This made many Ukraine citizens upset.
Who is President Yanukovych, and why has he fled?
President Yanukovych was the most recent president of Ukraine who fled the country once violence started because of his choices of not making the agreement with the EU after promising to do so. He fled and went to Russia because of the protests against him and the government and because Putin is a strong supporter of Yanukovych. Also, President Putin gave Yanukovych $15 billion and Putin sent lots of soldiers to invade Ukraine.
Who are the protesters?
The protesters were Ukrainians who opposed the president/government's recent choices. They were also angry about the bad leadership and how there was no economic growth (both before the EU agreements and violence).
Why did the unrest escalate in the past two weeks?
The violence escalated because Yanukovych went back on his agreement. Also, it happened so recently because people were angry at him and he fled and left his country to go to Russia and signed an agreement with them instead.
What role do Russia and the West play in the Ukrainian crisis?
Ukraine was looking to make agreements with Russia and the EU (the West) to help with their economy and the corruption problems and to help sustain normal living conditions. He was going to sign with EU, but decided against it. Then, he made an agreement with Russia and Russia is now keeping him as a refugee and trying to take over the country. The West has allied with the U.S. to support the opposition protestors financially and morally.
How do you think this conflict will end?
I think the Ukraine will split in half. This is because the nation is already divided so much that putting them back together would be very hard and there would still be frequent violence between the two halves. It would be better for Ukraine to split because the two sides are obviously supporters of two different things/ideas.