As Europe takes the lead in trying to end the bloodshed in the
Ukrainian capital, Vladimir Putin is running out of options to shape
events in a country that he sees as firmly within Russia’s sphere of influence.
Putin a few weeks ago seemed to have the upper hand after offering a $15 billion lifeline and a cut-price gas deal to shore up the country’s economy. Yet his Ukrainian ally Viktor Yanukovych has become ever-more isolated as pro-European activists hold onto Kiev’s main square after deadly clashes killing dozens, disaffected regions split off, ruling-party lawmakers defect and the European Union wields the threat of sanctions.
A European-brokered plan for early elections by December -- signed today in Kiev by Yanukovych and the opposition -- is a ploy to get Ukraine to make “the EU choice,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday.
Read more: Putin Options Dwindle in Ukraine as EU Takes Lead in Peace - Bloomberg
Putin a few weeks ago seemed to have the upper hand after offering a $15 billion lifeline and a cut-price gas deal to shore up the country’s economy. Yet his Ukrainian ally Viktor Yanukovych has become ever-more isolated as pro-European activists hold onto Kiev’s main square after deadly clashes killing dozens, disaffected regions split off, ruling-party lawmakers defect and the European Union wields the threat of sanctions.
A European-brokered plan for early elections by December -- signed today in Kiev by Yanukovych and the opposition -- is a ploy to get Ukraine to make “the EU choice,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday.
Read more: Putin Options Dwindle in Ukraine as EU Takes Lead in Peace - Bloomberg
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