Doubts emerge over Russian aid to Ukraine
- 10 years ago
More rumours are swirling in Ukraine ahead of a crucial EU Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Brussels where events in the country will be the main topic of discussion.
One newspaper reported the next slice of Russian aid, two billion dollars, will come in two weeks time with the appointment of a new head of government.
Other reports allege the first billion dollars of Russian aid is all gone, no-one knows where, and that Moscow says there is no more cash for the government of its southern neighbour anyway.
With support from the EU only strong among members like Poland and former Soviet nations, and the USA seeming to prefer to wait and see, the penny is dropping for Ukraine’s opposition; they are on their own, and if they are to win this revolution, they will have to do it themselves.
“I think the politicians, I mean our opposition leaders, are sort of at a loss and can’t themselves see a way out of the current situation,” said one protester.
While some doubts about the protests are growing, few in Kyiv appear ready to abandon the fight. The same grass-roots leadership that has taken this movement forward and made the politicians near-redundant organises libraries and study centres for the opposition.
Many spend a few hours on the barricades before returning to their homes with a book to read. Students revise for their upcoming exams. An opposition-run library provides a cosy information hub, a place to warm the body and rest a while.
Rotas are organised in soup kitchens, creches and dormitories to ensure as many people as possible are free to add to the people power on the streets, without their children or studies suffering too much. Their solidarity remains their most powerful weapon.
One newspaper reported the next slice of Russian aid, two billion dollars, will come in two weeks time with the appointment of a new head of government.
Other reports allege the first billion dollars of Russian aid is all gone, no-one knows where, and that Moscow says there is no more cash for the government of its southern neighbour anyway.
With support from the EU only strong among members like Poland and former Soviet nations, and the USA seeming to prefer to wait and see, the penny is dropping for Ukraine’s opposition; they are on their own, and if they are to win this revolution, they will have to do it themselves.
“I think the politicians, I mean our opposition leaders, are sort of at a loss and can’t themselves see a way out of the current situation,” said one protester.
While some doubts about the protests are growing, few in Kyiv appear ready to abandon the fight. The same grass-roots leadership that has taken this movement forward and made the politicians near-redundant organises libraries and study centres for the opposition.
Many spend a few hours on the barricades before returning to their homes with a book to read. Students revise for their upcoming exams. An opposition-run library provides a cosy information hub, a place to warm the body and rest a while.
Rotas are organised in soup kitchens, creches and dormitories to ensure as many people as possible are free to add to the people power on the streets, without their children or studies suffering too much. Their solidarity remains their most powerful weapon.