Ukraine is in a state of turmoil after a wave of violent political protests that started just about two weeks ago, and escalated unrest that started in 2012.
Then, President Viktor Yanukovych refused to have Ukraine join the European Union and have early elections, and instead alined itself more closely with Russia. In other words, a battle between becoming a truly American-style democratic state, or one that’s a far more closed communist state.
The controversy has drawn the involvement of former heavyweight boxer Vitaly Klitschko, who has become an opposition leader. Protestors have made surprising inroads against the police, and so much so that, two weeks ago, the Ukraine Government elected to suspend free speech and freedom of assembly.
That move only emboldened the protestors and now Ukraine finds itself on the brink of civil war. Here’s the latest protest on livestream:
Live streaming video by Ustream
Ukraine lacks a true justice system, so the protestors face a dizzying array of punishment outcomes that are shown in this infographic:
Stay tuned.