{"id":13024,"date":"2014-02-23T00:52:17","date_gmt":"2014-02-23T07:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?p=13024"},"modified":"2014-02-23T02:33:22","modified_gmt":"2014-02-23T09:33:22","slug":"ukranian-patriots-triumph-in-kiev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/ukranian-patriots-triumph-in-kiev\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian Patriots Triumph In Kiev"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most emotional celebrations in years was held on the streets of Kiev as\u00a0former Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko, recently released from a penitentiary hospital after the current\u00a0President Viktor F. Yanukovych fled Kiev on Saturday, addressed the crowd from her wheelchair.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"nyt_video_player\" title=\"New York Times Video - Embed Player\" src=\"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/bcvideo\/1.0\/iframe\/embed.html?videoId=100000002729580&amp;playerType=embed\" height=\"480\" width=\"640\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>by Andrew HIGGINS and Andrew E. Kramer, FEB. 22, 2014<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Reporting was contributed by David M. Herszenhorn and Oksana Lyachynska from Kiev, Steven Lee Myers from Moscow, and Stephen Castle from London.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>KIEV, Ukraine \u2014<\/strong> Abandoned by his own guards and reviled across the Ukrainian capital but still determined to recover his shredded authority, President Viktor F. Yanukovych fled Kiev on Saturday to denounce what he called a violent coup, as his official residence, his vast, colonnaded office complex and other once impregnable centers of power fell without a fight to throngs of joyous citizens stunned by their triumph.<\/p>\n<p>Deputies entered the Parliament building in Kiev. President Viktor F. Yanukovych fled the capital, taking with him any trace of a peace deal that had sought to freeze Ukraine\u2019s tumult.News Analysis: With President\u2019s Departure, Ukraine Looks Toward a Murky Future.<\/p>\n<p>Demonstrators rode a military vehicle to Independence Square in central Kiev. Protesters claimed control of the city\u2019s security.<\/p>\n<p>Protesters in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, where growing numbers of right-wing street groups have clashed with the police.<\/p>\n<p>While Mr. Yanukovych\u2019s nemesis, former Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko, was released from a penitentiary hospital, Parliament found the president unable to fulfill his duties and exercised its constitutional powers to set an election for May 25 to select his replacement. But with both Mr. Yanukovych and his Russian patrons speaking of a \u201ccoup\u201d carried out by \u201cbandits\u201d and \u201chooligans,\u201d it was far from clear that the day\u2019s lightning-quick events would be the last act in a struggle that has not just convulsed Ukraine but expanded into an East-West confrontation reminiscent of the Cold War.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13028\" style=\"width: 659px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=13028\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13028\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13028\" class=\" wp-image-13028     \" title=\"Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko spoke from the stage at Independence Square in Kiev. While Ms. Tymoshenko, President Victor Yanukovych's nemesis, was released from a penitenttiary hospital, Parliament found Yanukovych unable to fulfill his duties and exercised its constitutional power to set an election for May 25 to select a replacement.\" alt=\"Yulia Tymoshenko  (photo: Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times)\" src=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/YuliaTymoshenko.jpg\" width=\"649\" height=\"432\" srcset=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/YuliaTymoshenko.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/YuliaTymoshenko-300x199.jpg 300w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/YuliaTymoshenko-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13028\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yulia Tymoshenko (photo: Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Ms. Tymoshenko, who\u00a0<a title=\"Times article\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/10\/12\/world\/europe\/yulia-tymoshenko-sentenced-to-seven-years-in-prison.html\">was jailed by Mr. Yanukovych after losing the presidential election in 2010<\/a>, was released Saturday evening from the hospital in eastern Ukraine where she had been held, her representatives said. Many Ukrainians \u2014 and virtually all of the pro-Western protesters \u2014 believe her conviction was politically motivated and regard her as something of a martyr to their cause. Late Saturday she appeared on the stage in the Maidan square in a wheelchair and delivered a speech that was greeted by cheers and chants of \u201cYulia! Yulia!\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13029\" style=\"width: 673px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=13029\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13029\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13029\" class=\" wp-image-13029     \" title=\"President Viktor Yanukovych denounced a \u201ccoup\u201d on TV, said he had not resigned when he fled Kiev.\" alt=\"Viktor Yanukovych\" src=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/ViktorYanukovych.jpg\" width=\"663\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/ViktorYanukovych.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/ViktorYanukovych-300x241.jpg 300w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/ViktorYanukovych-1024x823.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13029\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Viktor Yanukovych<\/p><\/div>\n<p>She addressed her audience as \u201cheroes,\u201d and told them, \u201cI was dreaming to see your eyes. I was dreaming to feel the power that changed everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"141\" data-total-count=\"1882\">Though obviously in poor health, Ms. Tymoshenko is widely expected to run for president in the coming election, if it comes off as scheduled.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"636\" data-total-count=\"2518\">At the presidential residence a short distance from the capital, protesters carrying clubs and some wearing masks were in control of the entryways Saturday morning and watched as thousands of citizens strolled through the grounds in wonder. \u201cThis commences a new life for Ukraine,\u201d said Roman Dakus, a protester-turned-guard, who was wearing a ski helmet and carrying a length of pipe as he blocked a doorway at the compound. \u201cThis is only a start,\u201d he added. \u201cWe need now to make a new structure and a new system, a foundation for our future, with rights for everybody, and we need to investigate who ordered the violence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"216\" data-total-count=\"2734\">With the riot police they battled for days having disappeared, the protesters claimed to be in charge of security for the city. There was no sign of looting, either in the city proper or in the presidential compound.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13030\" style=\"width: 673px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=13030\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13030\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13030\" class=\" wp-image-13030   \" title=\"Anti-government protestors, one holding the Ukrainian national flag, drive a military vehicle at the Independence square in central Kiev.\" alt=\"Kievprotesters\" src=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievprotesters.jpg\" width=\"663\" height=\"442\" srcset=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievprotesters.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievprotesters-300x199.jpg 300w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievprotesters-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13030\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kieve Protesters (photo by Louisa Gouliamaki)<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_13031\" style=\"width: 673px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=13031\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13031\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13031\" class=\" wp-image-13031  \" title=\"Deputies entered the Parliament building as protesters stand on guard in Kiev. The President's departure from Kieve, just a day after a peace deal with the opposition that he had hoped would keep him in office until at least December, capped three months of street protests and a week of frenzied violence in the capitol that left more than 75 protesters dead. It turned what began in November as a street protest driven by pro-Europe chants and nationalist songs into a momentous, but still ill-defined revolution.\" alt=\"Kievdeputies\" src=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievdeputies.jpg\" width=\"663\" height=\"442\" srcset=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievdeputies.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievdeputies-300x199.jpg 300w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievdeputies-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13031\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kiev Deputies (photo by Sergey Ponomarev for the NY Times)<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_13032\" style=\"width: 673px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=13032\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13032\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13032\" class=\" wp-image-13032   \" title=\"Oksana Solchanyk (L) mourns over the body of her son, Bohdan, 28, who was killed in Kiev during the anti-government protests, at his funeral service at the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.\" alt=\"Kievfuneral2\" src=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievfuneral2.jpg\" width=\"663\" height=\"442\" srcset=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievfuneral2.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievfuneral2-300x199.jpg 300w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievfuneral2-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13032\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kiev Funeral Service (photo by Uriel Sinai for the NY Times)<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_13033\" style=\"width: 673px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=13033\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13033\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13033\" class=\" wp-image-13033    \" title=\"People use lights in their cell phones during funeral ceremony at the Independence square in Kiev. Both President Yanukovych and his Russian patrons speaking of a &quot;coup&quot; carried out by &quot;bandits&quot; and &quot;hooligans&quot;, it was far from clear that the day's lightning-quick events would be the last act in a struggle that has not just convulsed Ukraine, but expanded into an East-West conffrontation reminiscent of the Cold War.\" alt=\"Kievfuneral\" src=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievfuneral.jpg\" width=\"663\" height=\"442\" srcset=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievfuneral.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievfuneral-300x199.jpg 300w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievfuneral-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13033\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kiev Funeral. (photo by Sergey Ponomarev for NY Times)<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_13034\" style=\"width: 673px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=13034\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13034\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13034\" class=\" wp-image-13034   \" title=\"Mourners stand in the rain outside a church as they take part in a funeral service for Bohdan Solchanyk, 28, who was killed in Kiev during anti-government protests, at the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.\" alt=\"Kievmourners\" src=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievmourners.jpg\" width=\"663\" height=\"442\" srcset=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievmourners.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievmourners-300x199.jpg 300w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievmourners-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13034\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kiev Mourners (photo by Uriel Sinai for NY Times)<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_13035\" style=\"width: 673px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=13035\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13035\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13035\" class=\" wp-image-13035  \" title=\"At the Presidential residence a short distance from the capital, protesters carrying clubs and some wearing masks were in control of the entryways Saturday morning, and watched as thousands of citizens strolled through the grounds gazing in wonder at the mansion, zoo, golf course, and enclosure for rare pheasants within, all set in a birch forest on a bluff soaring above the Dnieper River.\" alt=\"Kievpalace\" src=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievpalace.jpg\" width=\"663\" height=\"442\" srcset=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievpalace.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievpalace-300x199.jpg 300w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievpalace-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13035\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kiev Palace (photo by Sergey Ponomarev for NY Times)<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_13036\" style=\"width: 673px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=13036\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13036\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13036\" class=\" wp-image-13036  \" title=\"With nobody clearly in charge, other than the so far remarkable disciplined fighting squads, lieutenants of Ms. Tymoshenko moved to fill the power vacuum.\" alt=\"Kievpatriots\" src=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievpatriots.jpg\" width=\"663\" height=\"442\" srcset=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievpatriots.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievpatriots-300x199.jpg 300w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievpatriots-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13036\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ukrainian Patriots in Kiev (photo by Sergey Ponomarev for NY Times)<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Declaring Victory in Kiev<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0After months of protests and a week of bloody mayhem, demonstrators in Independence Square celebrated the departure of President Viktor F. Yanukovych.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"354\" data-total-count=\"3088\">A pugnacious Mr. Yanukovych appeared on television Saturday afternoon, apparently from the eastern city of Kharkiv, near Ukraine\u2019s eastern border with Russia, saying he had been forced to leave the capital because of a \u201ccoup,\u201d and that he had not resigned, and had no plans to. He said indignantly that his car had been fired upon as he drove away.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"501\" data-total-count=\"3589\">\u201cI don\u2019t plan to leave the country. I don\u2019t plan to resign,\u201d he said, speaking in Russian rather than Ukrainian, the country\u2019s official language. \u201cI am a legitimately elected president.\u201d He added: \u201cWhat is happening today, mostly, it is vandalism, banditism and a coup d&#8217;\u00e9tat. This is my assessment and I am deeply convinced of this. I will remain on the territory of Ukraine.\u201d He also complained of \u201ctraitors\u201d among his own former supporters but he declined to name them.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"318\" data-total-count=\"3907\">Regional governors from eastern Ukraine met in Kharkiv and adopted a resolution resisting the authority of Parliament. They said that until matters were resolved, \u201cwe have decided to take responsibility for safeguarding the constitutional order, legality, citizens\u2019 rights and their security on our territories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"329\" data-total-count=\"4236\">One of the few institutions still taking orders from the president was the official trilingual\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.president.gov.ua\/\">website of the Ukrainian presidency<\/a>, which posted a transcript of his defiant television appearance. But, by evening, the text had appeared only in Ukrainian and Russian, suggesting that his English translator had perhaps jumped ship.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"450\" data-total-count=\"4686\">The former nerve center of Mr. Yanukovych\u2019s power, the huge compound of the presidential administration, just a few hundred yards from Independence Square in Kiev, was empty Saturday aside from protesters who patrolled its courtyard and blocked off a nearby street to prevent residents swarming into the building. Ukrainian flags flying outside had all been lowered to half-mast, in honor of those killed by police officers and snipers on Thursday.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13038\" style=\"width: 673px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=13038\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13038\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13038\" class=\" wp-image-13038    \" title=\"In Kiev on Saturday, opposition members, including Vitaly Klitschko, top right, celebrated as Ukraine's Parliament voted to remove President Viktor F. Yanukovych from office hours after he abandoned his office to protesters, denouncing what he described as a 'coup'.\" alt=\"Kiev Opposition\" src=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievdputies2.jpg\" width=\"663\" height=\"437\" srcset=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievdputies2.jpg 2048w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievdputies2-300x197.jpg 300w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Kievdputies2-1024x674.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kiev Opposition<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Mr. Yanukovych said in his television appearance that he would be traveling to the southeastern part of Ukraine to talk to his supporters \u2014 a plan that carried potentially ominous overtones, in that the southeast is the location of the Crimea, the historically Russian section of the country that is the site of a Russian naval base.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"437\" data-total-count=\"5458\">The president\u2019s departure from Kiev, just\u00a0<a title=\"Times article \" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/22\/world\/europe\/ukraine.html\">a day after a peace deal with the opposition<\/a>\u00a0that he had hoped would keep him in office until at least December, capped three months of streets protests and a week of frenzied violence in the capital that left more than 80 protesters dead. It turned what began in November as a street protest driven by pro-Europe chants and nationalist songs into a momentous but still ill-defined revolution.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"346\" data-total-count=\"5804\">With nobody clearly in charge, other than the so far remarkably disciplined fighting squads, lieutenants of Ms. Tymoshenko moved to fill the power vacuum. With Oleksandr V. Turchynov, a former acting prime minister and close ally of Ms. Tymoshenko, presiding over the Parliament, her Fatherland party seemed to be in charge, at least temporarily.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"226\" data-total-count=\"6030\">With a veto-proof majority of more than 300 of the 450 seats, Mr. Turchynov guided the Parliament through the constitutional process of declaring the president unable to fulfill his duties and setting a date for new elections.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"226\" data-total-count=\"6030\">But with Mr. Yanukovych roaming around eastern Ukraine trying to rally support and with the economy in free fall, the country seemed certain to face severe new challenges in the months ahead. Adding to the combustible mix was uncertainty over the intentions of Russia, which now faces the loss of a key ally in a former Soviet republic and the prospect of a new government led by people it scorned as terrorists and fascists in what it considers a critical part of its own sphere of influence.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13041\" style=\"width: 2090px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/?attachment_id=13041\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13041\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13041\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13041\" alt=\"Ukraine map\" src=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Ukrainemap.jpg\" width=\"2080\" height=\"2060\" srcset=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Ukrainemap.jpg 2080w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Ukrainemap-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Ukrainemap-300x297.jpg 300w, http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Ukrainemap-1024x1014.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2080px) 100vw, 2080px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13041\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ukraine map<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It was possibly with the Kremlin in mind that the White House issued a statement Saturday welcoming the changes and stressing that, \u201cThe unshakable principle guiding events must be that the people of Ukraine determine their own future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"636\" data-total-count=\"7399\">American officials said President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia told President Obama in a telephone call on Friday that he would work toward resolving the crisis, but his foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, did not sound as conciliatory. In a telephone call, he told the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland, who helped mediate a short-lived peace deal agreed on Friday, that opposition leaders who signed the accord with Mr. Yanukovych had reneged on their commitments and were \u201cfollowing the lead of armed extremists and pogromists, whose actions pose a direct threat to Ukraine\u2019s sovereignty and constitutional order.\u201d<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"263\" data-total-count=\"7662\">Russia\u2019s focus on the inviolability of Friday\u2019s accord, however, marks an abrupt change of direction as it had earlier distanced itself from the deal, with its envoy to the Ukraine negotiations refusing to join European diplomats in signing off on the accord.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"285\" data-total-count=\"7947\">Anticipating the potential troubles, one of the president\u2019s oldest and most stalwart allies, the billionaire businessman Rinat Akhmetov, issued a statement stressing the need to keep Ukraine \u201cunited,\u201d an apparent rebuff to any schemes to establish a new power center in the east.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"420\" data-total-count=\"8367\">\u201cMy position remains unchanged: I am for a strong, independent and united Ukraine,\u201d said Mr. Akhmetov, Ukraine\u2019s richest man. \u201cToday I place a special focus on the word \u2018united\u2019 as this has never been more important.\u201d Mr. Akhmetov and most other wealthy businessmen, who are known as oligarchs, have infuriated protesters by declining throughout months of protest to come out clearly against the president.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"370\" data-total-count=\"8737\">Having amassed huge wealth under a deeply corrupt system headed by Mr. Yanukovych since his election in 2010, Ukraine\u2019s oligarchs could now face an angry backlash from the street. That could well drag in Oleksandr Yanukovych, the president\u2019s dentist-turned-businessman son, who is said to have amassed a fortune approaching $200 million since his father took office.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"440\" data-total-count=\"9177\">The economy will remain the greatest problem facing the country, once the leadership questions are settled. The International Monetary Fund remains a potential source of financing to replace the $15 billion that Russia had made available before the protests. But that comes with an insistence on austerity and economic changes that will inflict considerable pain, and it is unclear if Europe or the United States will be willing to do more.<\/p>\n<p itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-para-count=\"257\" data-total-count=\"9434\">\u201cNobody wants to end up owning all the problems that Ukraine faces,\u201d said Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, \u201cthe country is bankrupt, it has a terrible, broken system of government and insane levels of corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most emotional celebrations in years was held on the streets of Kiev as\u00a0former Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko, recently released from a penitentiary hospital after the current\u00a0President Viktor F. Yanukovych fled Kiev on Saturday, addressed the crowd &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/ukranian-patriots-triumph-in-kiev\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13024"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13043,"href":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13024\/revisions\/13043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/amicuscuria.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}