Web Editor’s Note: Daniela Fierro, West Texas A&M University student and former web editor to The Prairie, is currently studying abroad in the Ukraine and this is her account of events unfolding.
The world seems tense, there is a lack of consistent chatter outside my window, my roommates talk about most of the things that are going on around Kharkiv, Ukraine and we try to decipher if rumors are true or just rumors.
Ukraine’s protests began back in November, and I clearly recall being there when they began. I was in my two-week trip of Central and Eastern Europe when I had arrived to Kyiv, protests were peaceful and it was nothing serious at all.
But in a matter of months it escalated radically and Ukraine has gone, for a lack of a better term, berserk beginning this past “Black Tuesday” where a truce had been called but was never followed. Fingers were pointed. The government blamed the protests and the protesters blamed the government.
According to Euronews.com “Dr Oleh Musiy, was quoted as saying 70 protesters had been killed and the number of dead on Thursday could go higher. None of the figures could be verified.”
There’s not much I could do at this point, seeing as I’m hours away from Kyiv but I can take information in while being safe in my apartment. But following tweets from EuroMaidan, Kyiv Post, CNN, and any other news source in English and Russian can be a bit difficult, especially when most newspapers, and I’m sad to say, have their own political agenda. There are people out there who tweet without fact checking so I can’t ever be too sure what the truth is.
The unfortunate thing about Ukraine, if you don’t know, is its division by the Dnieper River that keeps the country apart when it comes to values. The Eastern part of Ukraine is called Pravoberezhzhia and the Western Part is called Livoberezhzhia.
Livoberezhzhia is more inclined to join the European Union, seeing it as a way for the country to become prosperous; however, Pravoberezhzhia doesn’t seem ready to stray to far form Russian values and the jobs the country provides for its commuters.
Russia has been quiet because of the Olympics but they end soon, and they will most likely interfere. I’m unsure how but there is this hunch that they won’t interfere in a very nice way. You can watch live footage at RT here: http://rt.com/on-air/ukraine-central-kiev-protest/
You can follow the English-Language Newspaper, Kyiv Post for updates on their twitter: https://twitter.com/kyivpost
If you understand Ukranian, you can watch what is going on at the Verkhovna Rada here: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/watch-live-massive-protests-in-kiev-ukraine-2/
Why a war between the people has begun, a timeline by CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/18/world/europe/ukraine-protests-explainer/
http://www.euronews.com/2014/02/20/ukraine-death-toll-rises-as-protesters-retake-maida/
kyivpost.com
http://khpg.org/index.php?id=1392852095&fb_source=message
