As Ukraine turns away from closer relations with the European Union and further into the embrace of Russia, the Obama administration is saying little about it or the resulting street protests for fear of provoking a fracture with the Kremlin.
Huge street demonstrations in the Ukrainian capital that might have sent U.S. spokesmen to the ramparts just a few years ago have merited only mild and largely noncommittal statements — and a decision by Secretary of State John Kerry to skip a planned visit to Kiev this week.
The unrest has brought crowds of up to 300,000 people to the streets of Kiev, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. Demonstrators are angry that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych will not sign an association agreement that would deepen trade and other ties with the EU. He is instead moving to improve relations with Russia.