Mere hundreds of miles north and west of Sochi, where the rest of the world has gathered for the Winter Olympic Games, the Ukraine in is chaos with anti-governmental forces barricaded behind bonfires in Kiev and the state military and police working to determine what will happen next.
The government is supported by Russia's Vladimir Putin while the protestors are looking to the United States for moral and diplomatic support. Stalin tried to starve the Ukrainians to death in mass... what will Putin do? What will Obama do?
◼ Ukraine crisis: President Viktor Yanukovych blames opposition for deadly clashes - BBC via Kitchen Cabinet
◼ White House Leaving Ukraine Crisis Up to Biden - Bridget Johnson/PJMedia
Ukraine took a steep step toward total chaos Tuesday as the government attempted to forcefully clear Kiev’s main square of a three-month-long protest, resulting in at least 19 reported deaths.
Twitter was bursting with live reports of the mayhem and pictures of protesters’ bloodied faces. Heavyweight boxing champ and parliamentary opposition leader Vitali Klitschko urged foes of the Viktor Yanukovych regime to stay in the square, and the numbers not only stayed consistent but swelled. Though Klitschko urged women and children to leave the square when it became apparent that Yanukovych was orchestrating an offensive against the demonstrators, reports from the scene included elderly women calling police “killers” and challenging them to shoot. Protesters erected a fire barricade to help keep the police at bay as anthems filled the smoky air in a scene reminiscent of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Government snipers aiming at protesters from the rooftops were supplied by Russia, said the opposition, while Yanukovych forces claimed they were sent by NATO.
Eyes turned toward Washington for statements on the events, forceful words for Yanukovych or perhaps even a threat of sanctions. But throughout the months-long ordeal, those communications have not been coming from the commander in chief....
The crisis promises to rip further at the administration’s already tattered “reset” with Russia, as Moscow claimed this month that Washington is “crudely interfering” with the former Soviet state.
◼ At least nine people were killed Tuesday in the deadliest day of the 3-month-old Ukrainian political crisis - LA Times
An Orthodox priest tries to stop a clash between protesters and the police in the center of Kiev, Ukraine. 2014 pic.twitter.com/rlbQ2mlfpx
— Powerful Pictures (@Powerful_Pics) February 11, 2014
