Sunday, December 29, 2013

Police Block Protesters in Ukraine

Thousands of Ukrainians continued to protest in Kiev, on Sunday.

The people are still demanding that President Viktor Yanukovych and much of the rest of the government resign.

Protesters attempted to march on his home, carrying a coffin, but were blocked by police officers.


On December 17, ignoring the opinion of the people, Yanukovych signed a trade agreement with Russia.


He did so after repeatedly pledging to sign an agreement with the EU.

Protests have been taking place for over a month now, with crowds as large as two hundred thousand, in Kiev's Independence Square alone.

Many Ukrainians worry that Yanukovych is taking their country back under Russian influence and fear a loss of their independence from their former Soviet masters.

The protests gained steam after three former presidents backed them.

Police were unable to clear out the protesters earlier this month, and their failure had been followed by Yanukovych promising to get back to working on the deal with the EU.

However, his once again breaking his word has only heightened the calls for his removal from office and led to many to call him a traitor and warn that he should never return to the country.

The opposition had called for the government to replace him, but their lack of movement on the issue has led to calls for their removal as well.

So far, the protests have been almost completely peaceful, but that could change as anger continues.

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