What’s Happening in Ukraine?

It's been all over the news for the last couple of weeks. What's happening in the Ukraine?

Huge antigovernment protests have escalated quickly in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, since late last year. These events started happening around the time that President Yanukovych turned away from a deal that would allow Ukraine to join the European Union.

The Ukraine government would rather stay on good terms with Russian President Vladimir Putin in return for good treatment. Meanwhile, the protesters think it would help ordinary people to be aligned with the EU, and view President Yanukovych as a man who only cares about the interests of the rich.

A violent police break-up of a demonstration has only escalated the situation, and countless more people have taken to the streets in protests, consequently resulting in the abolishing of certain anti-protest laws. Last week, after at least three protesters were killed in confrontations with riot police, protests spread across the country, and demonstrators captured several government headquarters in Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal has a quick guide to understanding the situation, if you're like me and need some help.

For a more in depth look, you can also check out the Belfast Telegraph.