WALL STREET JOURNAL: Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Kiev, calling for the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych for his decision to suspend signing an accord with the European Union. The demonstrations were the largest since the Orange Revolution that swept a pro-Western government into power nine years ago.
The unrest posed the most serious challenge yet to the rule of Mr. Yanukovych, who came to office in 2010 vowing to improve ties with Moscow but more recently had adopted a more pro-Western line. The planned EU agreement, years in the making, was aimed at setting this former Soviet Republic of some 46 million on a firmly Western path.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians angered by Mr. Yanukovych’s sudden reversal on the EU deal and a violent police crackdown on protesters Saturday streamed into Independence Square in Kiev’s center Sunday, carrying scarves, ribbons and flags in yellow and blue, Ukraine’s national colors, and chanting, “Get the thugs out.”… (more)
