The recent conflict in Ukraine has been drawing a lot of negative attention. There’s a lot of history behind the conflict in Ukraine going back as far as 2004, which is has been named the Orange Revolution. For now, we will just concentrate on the current conflict that started around a month ago, but I, of course, highly recommend reading more about it.
Last month, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych announced plans for a bailout by Russia. In essence, Putin agreed to buy $15 billion in Ukrainian bonds and to also sell Ukraine natural gas at a third of their normal selling price. Although this help is a very generous gesture by Putin, most Ukrainians aren’t in agreement of the offer. Almost immediately protestors came flocking to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. News of the bailout angered protesters who had hoped that Ukraine would go towards the European Union for help and not back to Russia. Since then, the conflict has turned violent resulting in deaths on both sides.
Just today, an activist that had been missing since January 22 was found wondering the forest. Dmytro Bulatov says he was abducted, tortured and then dumped in the forest to die. This recent event will only create more conflict in Ukraine.
For more information, I’m pasting a few good articles on the conflict.
- CNN “Ukraine’s Political Crisis Puts Country at Risk”
- BBC News “Ukraine Activist Said He was Abducted and Tortured”
- New York Times “Ukraine” (Offers a timeline of events)
- For a podcast, click on “Putin’s economic bailout for Ukraine angers protesters supportive of EU deal”
- The Washington Times “Ukraine’s second Orange Revolution”