Ukraine protests intensify as Yanukovych refuses to sign EU deal.

European Union supporters and demonstrators against the government of Viktor Yanukovych protested in freezing temperatures in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital against his refusal to sign a deal with the European Union to get closer ties with the West. Many think that he is being heavily leant upon by Vladimir Putin and Russia to the north, however jailed former leader Yulia Tymoshenko  who is on hunger strike from her prison cell through her daughter Eugenia called for the people to rise up and not let the government take away the hope that one day Ukraine could join the wider European family. Vitaly Klitschko the leader of the opposition UDAR party has also called for protests and pressure is rising on Yanukovych to act to quell the dissent.

Yulia Tymoshenko – Being held behind bars but still defiant.

Sometimes you just need to look into the eyes of a person in a picture and you immediately know what they are all about. Look into the eyes of Yulia Tymoshenko, and you see one determined lady. Yulia, the former Prime Minister of Ukraine and one of the leaders of the Orange revolution in Ukraine back in 2004, was rather controversially thrown into jail for brokering an alleged bad deal for her country during her second term in office via an agreement with Russia over the provision of gas supplies. Seeing that Ukraine often shivers under sub-zero temperatures in harsh winters and in 2009 Russia had previously turned off the taps for 13 days, I suspect Tymoshenko's hands were somewhat tied when agreeing to a deal to preserve Ukraine’s gas supply. Her story has hit the headlines as she has been suffering severe back problems, made worse by being allegedly punched by prison guards as she was being taken for medical treatment. In response, she has gone on hunger strike and on finding out her plight, several European countries including Germany have boycotted an international summit which was to be held in Yalta, and the European Football championships which are taking place in Poland & Ukraine this summer may yet be affected too. Yes, the treatment of Yulia is bad and should be condemned, but Yulia herself is no angel as the astrology shows.