Conflict Central: Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych Heads to China as Protests Continue Back Home

For nearly two weeks, Ukrainian protesters have poured into the streets of Kiev to demand President Viktor Yanukovych step down after rejecting a deal for closer ties with the European Union. The protests, which have been rife with police violence, demand that Yanukovych’s administration turn away from its close relationship with Russia.

Despite increasing opposition to his government, the president flew to China on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The protests, which have overtaken the capital, have caused the international markets to build up, driving up the cost of insuring the country’s increasing debt against default. The dire economic situation may be what finally forces Yanukovych’s decision.

The protests are proving there are cracks in Yanukovych’s administration. According to the New York Times, Serhiy Lyovichkin, the chief of the presidential administration staff, resigned on Saturday over the increased violence towards protesters.

Yanukovich is also getting push back from members of the Party of Regions. Several members spoke out against the police violence and at least two, David Zhvania and Inna Bohoslovska, announced they had quit the party, the Times reported.

In an effort to placate the pro-Western protesters, Yanukovych reached out to European Commision President Jose Manuel Barroso to possibly reopen negotiations. However, the president was met with a chilly response. According to the Wall Street Journal, the EU’s executive told Yanukovych that the trade deal he rejected last week following six years of talks was not up for renegotiation.

Barroso also reportedly warned him about using police forces to disperse demonstrators in Kiev’s main square.

Despite reaching out to the EU, Yanukovych defended his decision to back away from the European integration deal. According to Yanukovych, the financial aid deal offered by the EU did not offset the lost trade with Russia.

In a televised interview on Monday, the president said, “What kind of agreement is it if they take us and bend us?” He added, “I, for one, think we shouldn’t give in, we should defend our own interest.”

Those interests, apparently, lie in Moscow, where Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his support for the Ukrainian president’s decision. Putin, however, did threaten economic retaliation against Kiev if it were to accept the EU’s deal, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Putin also denounced the pro-Western demonstration in the Ukraine saying they “remind me not of a revolution but of a pogrom.” The Russian president added that the protesters were disrupting Yanukovych's “legitimate government.”

Ukraine, a country the size of Texas, has long teetered between its close relationship with Russia and its desire to strengthen ties to the EU. However, the recent protests that have rocked the nation may force the president’s administration to seriously reconsider its alliances. Demonstrators are calling for Yanukovych’s resignation if he does not sign a deal with the EU.

The administration’s opposition, which was about 350,000 strong on Sunday, has set up camp in Kiev’s Independence Square, blocking the perimeters and holding speeches and musical performances during the day. The opposition’s turnout is the biggest rise of popular discontent since Ukraine’s 2004 “Orange Revolution,” Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, Yanukovych plans to remain in China until Dec. 6 to seek loans and investment to avert plunging his country into a debt crisis.

The 'Conflict Central' series will focus on conflicts occuring around the world as they happen. Be sure to check back for updates on the protests shaking up the Ukraine.