The crisis began as a protest against the government dropping plans to build closer trade ties with the European Union, and has since caused escalating tensions between Russia and Western powers. This crisis stems from poor governance, heavy reliance on Russia, and sharp differences between Ukraine’s linguistically, religiously, and ethnically distinct eastern and western regions. Former President Viktor Yanukovich signaled agreement with the EU on a trade association agreement, but he dropped those plans seemingly overnight because of pressure from Russia, which provoked major riots. How I see it, Ukraine would benefit more from signing with the EACU rather than EU because of their significant reliance on Russia for gas, and being its largest export client.
More information can be found here:
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/eu-russia-ukraine-dilemma
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