#EuroMaydan For a long time, the threat of U.S. sanctions against Ukrainian officials has played the role of a scarecrow used by the opposition in its attacks on Yanukovych. However, relations between the governments of Ukraine and the United States over the last two months could be described as the former’s decisive leap into an abyss.

Jan. 3, 2014, 3:56 p.m. | Op-ed — by Serhiy Leshchenko (Сергій Лещенко)

Source: http://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/op-ed/us-sanctions-legal-basis-already-in-place-334631.html

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (L) and US Senators John McCain (2R) and Chris Murphy (3r) attend their talks in Kiev on December 15, 2013.
© AFP PHOTO/ PRESIDENTIAL PRESS-SERVICE POOL/ ANDREI MOSIENKO