May 27, 2014

Pro-European candidate Petro Poroshenko was officially declared the winner yesterday in the first presidential elections held in Ukraine since Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February in a popular uprising. Poroshenko took 54 percent of the vote, compared with former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s 13.1 percent. Claiming victory, Poroshenko vowed that he would not allow eastern Ukraine to be turned into Somalia–that is, a lawless state overrun by terrorists and pirates: “The antiterrorist operation [in eastern Ukraine] cannot and should not last two or three months. It should and will last hours.” A 48-year-old billionaire, Poroshenko declared after Sunday’s election that the majority of Ukrainians had given him a mandate to continue a course of integration with Europe. However, his first priority was to travel to eastern Ukraine to tackle the “war and chaos caused by pro-Russian separatist rebels.”

This morning, Ukraine’s interior ministry reported that the army was once again in full control of the airport in the eastern city of Donetsk. An attempt yesterday by pro-Russian separatists to take over the airport was met with army air strikes and an assault by heavily armed troops. A series of bloody clashes left at least 30 rebels dead. A BBC correspondent in Ukraine suggested that the attempt to seize the airport may have been intended to prevent Poroshenko from landing there after he declared his intention of personally going to eastern Ukraine to deal with the uprising.

Pro-Rusian separatists yesterday unsuccessfully attempted to gain control of the airport in Donetsk, the largest city in eastern Ukraine. The attack may have been an effort to keep Ukraine's new president, Petro Poroshenko, from landing there in his attempt to unify the nation. (World Book map; map data © MapQuest.com, Inc.)

International affairs experts noted that the election, which was billed at the most important since Ukraine separated from Russia 23 years ago, went off with a minimum of violence and disturbances at polling places.

For additional information on the Ukrainian crisis, search Ukraine articles under Archived Stories.

Additional World Book article:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)
• Ukraine 2013 (a Back in Time article)

March 3, 2014

Russia reportedly has demanded the surrender of Ukrainian forces in Crimea. There are reports that the Russian military has given Ukrainian forces in Crimea an ultimatum to surrender tonight by 10:00 pm EST or face a full military assault. With Russian troops surrounding Ukrainian bases and airports and manning roadblocks that have cut Ukrainian access to the peninsula, Russia is, in effect, already in control of Crimea, the southern most region of Ukraine.

After already having ordered thousands of troops into Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin on March 1 received  authorization from the Russian parliament to deploy armed forces “on Ukrainian territory.” Correspondents reported that the road from Sevastopol to Simferopol, the provincial capital, quickly filled with Russian army trucks.

Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, subsequently announced that he had put Ukraine’s armed forces on full readiness because of “potential aggression” from the estimated 15,000 Russian troops crossing into Crimea.

In a heated, 90-minute telephone conversation on March 1, President Putin informed U.S. President Barack Obama that Russia had the right to protect its interests and those of Russian speakers not only in Crimea but also in east Ukraine. After the conversation, President Obama expressed his deep concern over Russia’s clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, which he characterized as  a “breach of international law.”

President Vladimir Putin sent thousands of Russian troops into neighboring Crimea, the southernmost region of Ukriane.(AP/Wide World)

In a video address on her website, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko declared on March 2 that by occupying Crimea, Russia has effectively “declared war” on the United Kingdom and the United States. According to Tymoshenko, British and U.S. representatives in 1994 signed the “Budapest Memorandum” guaranteeing Ukraine’s security. “Vladimir Putin is fully conscious that by declaring war, he is also declaring war on the guarantors of our security, the United States and Britain,” she noted.

European Union foreign ministers went into session today in Brussels to discuss possible punitive steps against Russia unless it pulls its troops back to its own bases in Crimea. British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged Russia to pull back its forces in Crimea or face “significant costs,” echoing comments made by U.S. President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry. “The world cannot just allow this to happen,” Hague told the BBC. “The world cannot say it’s O.K. in effect to violate the sovereignty of another nation in this way.” However, the governments of France and Germany have made it plain that the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia is not on the table, let alone a military intervention. International affairs experts note that much of the European Union is highly dependent on Russian oil and natural gas.  In 2007, EU countries imported from Russia 32.6 percent of their total oil imports and 38.7 percent of total natural gas imports.

The people of Ukraine are split over their attitudes toward East and West. Crimea as well as eastern Ukraine is largely populated with Russian-speaking people with close historic and cultural ties to Russia. Western Ukraine is largely populated with Ukrainian-speaking people who want Ukraine allied with the European Union and the West. Today, pro-Russian demonstrators marched in the streets of the big cities of eastern Ukraine, voicing their allegiance to Moscow. In the city of Donetsk, about 1,000 demonstrators, waving Russian flags and shouting, “Putin, come!” occupied the first floor of the regional government building that has already been flying the Russian flag for several days.

Additional World Book articles:

• Russia in the Post-Soviet World (a special report)
• Ukraine 1994 (a Back in Time article)

February 21, 2014

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and leaders of the anti-government opposition reached a compromise agreement this morning designed to end the political crisis that has turned Kiev, the capital, into a battleground. After hours of talks with opposition leaders, Yanukovych agreed to hold new elections by December; to form a national unity government; and to restore a constitution drafted in 2004 that would reduce the power of the president. After French, German, and Polish foreign ministers witnessed the signing of the agreement, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued a statement commending both sides “for their courage and commitment to the agreement” and calling for “an immediate end to all violence and confrontation in Ukraine.” However, it remains unclear whether protesters in the streets will back the agreement, which leaves Yanukovych in power until at least the end of the year. Many protesters have declared that nothing short of his immediate resignation will satisfy them.

The western half of Ukraine supports closer ties with the European Union. The eastern half, where most people speak Russian and are of Russian descent, continues to support Viktor Yanukovych's move to bind Ukraine closer to Russia. (World Book map; map data © MapQuest.com, Inc.)

Shortly after the deal was signed, Ukraine’s parliament approved the immediate restoration of the 2004 constitution and granted amnesty to protesters accused of involvement in recent violence. The parliament also voted to release former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who has been imprisoned for more than two years. In 2011, Tymoshenko was found guilty of abuse of power and sentenced to seven years in prison. Many Ukrainians and most western leaders denounced both her trial and sentence as political motivated.

Today’s agreement comes after the bloodiest day yet in the three-month uprising. Yesterday, Ukrainian security forces in Kiev killed at least 50 protesters following the breakdown of a truce agreed to on February 19. Military-grade weapons were issued to police, and according to witnesses, snipers shot protesters from rooftops around Independence Square, the center of the demonstrations.

The unrest in Ukraine began in November when Yanukovych rejected a trade deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia. His move to bind Ukraine to Russia infuriated the residents of western Ukraine who want the country allied to the West with its tradition of democracy and capitalism. Yanukovych remains popular in the Russian-speaking eastern half of the country, where economic and cultural ties with Russia are strong.

Additional World Book articles:

• Kuchma, Leonid Danylovich
• Viktor Yushchenko
• Ukraine 2004 (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine 2005 (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine 2009 (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine 2010 (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• Ukraine 2012 (a Back in Time article)