Kiev protests: A fight over influence of the West

“Death on the streets, riot shields being thumped and Molotov cocktails thrown are the manifestation, but all this started because of the desire of many Ukrainians to join the EU, and Russia’s feeling this was where its diminution in power had to stop.

Putin wants a Eurasian Union to counter the EU and has his own inducement in oil and aid. Ukraine’s strong man has enthusiastically backed that path.

Georgia and others in the region, inclined to side with the West, will be watching closely.”