Nicolette Briglio

Ukrainian Crisis
Ms. Tavani
April 28, 2015
Questions:
1. What are the three core factors that led to the chaos,
according to the article?
There are three factors that led to the chaos of Ukraine. The first is
that Yanukovych told the citizens he was going through with signing a
document to intertwine Ukraine with the E.U. and as it came closer to
the signing he refused. Also, there is still a kind of fight between
Russia and the West for influence in the Eastern Europe countries.
Kremlin expanded the military and economy which threatened
Ukraines giant military and this made Russia apply pressure to get the
control he wanted. Lastly, the riots that the civilians have been
starting because they are outraged by how the government handles
the street protests. These riots contradicted the things that the
propaganda that the government has been putting out basically
revealing to everyone how Ukraine really is.

2. Why does Russia feel threatened by Ukraine forming a closer

partnership with Europe?
When Ukraine starting falling closer in ties with Europe, Russia felt
unease. Russia saw it as going against them. The Black Sea naval fleet
is based in Ukraine as well as the pipelines that carry Russias natural
gas through Europe. Russia feels that if they band together they will
stop associating the Black Sea and the pipelines with Russia because
Russia mainly depends on the two for trade.

3. Why did many Ukrainians, especially in the Western part of the

country, want Ukraine to sign political and economic agreements
with the European Union?
Many Ukrainians, especially in the Western part agreed with coming
together in ties with Europe. They thought it would help Ukraine with

adjustments to the justice and economic system. They saw it as a sign

that there could be change to improve their lives.

4. Why did street protests erupt in November 2013?

Protesters erupted in the streets of cities and towns because
Yanukovych decided he wasnt going to sign with Europe. The
punishments were horrible because the police would beat the
protesters bad. The people were furious.

5. What were some of the government missteps that helped

further fuel the protests?
Yanukovych paid 15 billion in natural gas discounts. The missteps came
after that. They were beaten by police. The government restricted
free speech and they seized all public building and the Independence
Square.

6. What additional questions do you have about whats going on in

Ukraine?
I dont have any further questions. I learned a lot from the website
and it helped me understand what is going on in Ukraine.