The compromises Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has made to end the fighting in his country have taken shape, and they are dangerous to his political future. His increasingly nationalist electorate considers them little short of treachery.
The Ukrainian Parliament earlier this week passed Poroshenko's bill on the special status of eastern areas held by pro-Russian rebels. It also ratified Ukraine's association and free trade agreement with the European Union, although Ukraine now only intends to abolish customs duties on EU goods at the end of 2015.
These concessions are less in some areas and more in others than Russian President Vladimir Putin squeezed from Poroshenko's ill-fated predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, and they come at an enormous cost in human lives, lost trust and broken relationships between the two nations.