An article on Ukraine in the new issue of The Economist: Since May 2014 Ukrainian troops at the airport have been under attack, earning the nickname “cyborgs”. Fighting has taken place at close quarters, often within the same buildings. Petro Poroshenko, the current president, praised the cyborgs for representing the “invincibility of the Ukrainian spirit”. But as the legend grew, so did the political risk of losing it. Russia also has plans to strengthen its army, building up troops in Crimea and in Kaliningrad. Economic woes do not seem to have altered Vladimir Putin’s strategy. His popularity rating remains over 80%. He still hopes to convince the West that it has more to lose if relations remain bad. For instance, on January 20th Russia’s defence minister signed a deal with Iran on military co-operation. And at Donetsk airport, Mr Putin is seeking to show that, no matter what the West is willing to do for Ukraine, he will do more—or go down trying. economist/news/europe/21640387-renewed-fighting-eastern-ukraine-makes-mockery-all-peace-deals-airport-saga
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 01:08:26 +0000
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