2014+Crisis+in+Ukraine

=Crisis in Ukraine=

Things are getting serious. There is a real possibility of war- and a strong possibility of civil war. This country which was once a part of the Soviet Union experienced several weeks of protests that culminated during the Olympics with violence. Government forces fired upon and killed over 80 civilians in Kiev. The issue was the Ukrainian president's refusal to sign a trade agreement with the European Union in order to accept help from Russia with many strings attached. Last week following the violence the president fled, and former politicians favored by the protestors declared themselves to be the new interim government. Half of the country is ethnic Ukrainian. The other half is predominantly Russian. The Russian parts- most notably in the Crimea region refused to recognize the new government and appealed to Russia. Vladimir Putin asked for and received permission from his parliament to use force to intervene. President Obama warned Russia that there would be consequences if they intervened. Yesterday, Russian military forces took control of the Crimea. The new Ukrainian government ordered its military forces to prepare for war and mobilized its reserves.

This is serious.

What do you know about this situation? What do you think about it? What would you suggest that the U.S. do?

Post quickly, as this situation is likely to develop very, very quickly.