When the going gets tough, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych goes away, at least for a while. As the country threatens to erupt in civil war, Yanukovych returned Monday from a four-day sick leave that he'd taken on the heels of the resignation of Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov. His return filled what would have been an alarming vacuum at the top of the Ukrainian government.
Protests broke out in Ukraine in late November when Yanukovych decided not to sign a trade deal with the European Union that would have opened the door to a wider relationship and even eventual membership in the EU.
While the agreement responded to the aspirations of many, if not most, Ukrainians who yearn for the freedoms and opportunities associated with the West, it angered Russia, which believes Ukraine belongs in its sphere of influence.