The Crisis in Ukraine

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Ukraine is an Eastern European country with a population of about 45 million. Before the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, it was called The Ukraine, which means “borderland”. It lies to the west of Russia and to the east of the rest of Europe. For over two centuries, Russia has been trying to make Ukraine more Russian. Ukraine has been torn between the two (Russia and Europe, and more recently, the European Union) for a very long time. West Ukraine speaks native Ukrainian and identifies more with Europe. East Ukraine speaks Russian, which is the nationality with the closest ties to them.
Protests started in November of 2013, when the Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych announced that Ukraine would abandon the agreement to strengthen ties with the European Union, and instead chose to become closer with Russia. These peaceful protests were mostly the west Ukrainians. Yanukovych then passed laws restricting public demonstrations and freedom of speech. Even Russian-speaking Ukrainians in the east began protesting, and the revolts became more violent.
Starting on February 18, ...

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