Putin's Low Blows Drive Ukraine Away From Europe - Bloomberg:
"Less that two months after Ukrainian heavyweight boxing champion Vladimir Klitschko defeated Russian challenger Alexander Povetkin in a packed Moscow arena, Russia took its revenge on Ukraine. The Eastern European nation's president, Viktor Yanukovich, bowed to pressure from his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and signaled that his country won't sign a key agreement with the European Union next week, opting instead to stay within Russia's sphere of influence.
The decision has driven Ukrainian intellectuals to despair. To them, the EU agreement meant a democratic, prosperous future and siding with Putin's Russia signifies a retreat to the Soviet past, or worse.
The association agreement would have opened the nation's market to European goods and serve as the first step toward Ukraine's full membership in the EU. The signing of the deal was to be the key event of the common market's Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Nov. 26-27."
'via Blog this'
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