Yushchenko and Bush have plans. WTO, NATO.

It's amazing to watch the world change before my very eyes.

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I have to admit that I sort of held my breath until it was truly over.

And now Ukraine was one of the few countries in the world that simply couldn't celebrate the New Year under the dark cloud of the Asian crisis: it's too happy an occasion for them. Le Sabot Post-Moderne has pix of the festivities, for which Ukranians gathered in Independence Square as if they lived in New York; the snow started falling at midnight, and it was perfect.

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DiscoShaman gives us some of the victory celebration in Ukraine, and one last shot of the tent city before it closes up, presumably, for good.

It's a sweet night for democracy.

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1 Thanks for the moral support, btw And you've made a big new fan with Jinnderella!

Posted by: jeff at December 28, 2004 03:49 PM (e5qz7)

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. . . has the story on the Yushchenko poisoning case. Doctors have finally been able to prove that it was oral ingestion of dioxin and not a bad case of sunburn, or whatever the Ukranian establishment was claiming it was.

She's also got the most dramatic pictures yet of his disfigurement, some of which we are told will subside as his skin heals. (Some, of course, will not.)

I've been told this is a classic KGB tactic, but it's utterly horrifying to see it.

Special thanks to Kate,, who first brought this issue to my attention while she was guest-blogging at OTB.

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. . . riffs off the Wall Street Journal, discussing the religious aspects of the Ukranian situation.

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The new runoff election is scheduled for December 26th. Meanwhile, check out the Sabot Post-Moderne pix from the night of the victory in the Supreme Court!

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DiscoShaman of Post-Modern Clog:

We won big today. I'd forgotten how much fun a Revolution can be.

Also, be sure to drop by Orange Ukraine.

It looks—ohmigod, it really looks—like this thing may be resolved with little or no bloodshed. Viva Ukraine.

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Le Sabot:

Yushchenko comes off much tougher than he did at the press conference announcement, which only gave the bare points. But this has been a day that gave with one hand and took back with the other.

- Yushchenko has lifted the blockades. But he's vowed to keep to the streets until he gets a solid date on a new vote, and changes in the voting laws. He's given the working group 24 hours to come up with them.

- Yanukovych was voted out as PM, taking away his ability to steal votes administratively. He has refused to accept this, and Kuchma can veto the vote, if he wants to spend the political capital doing it.

- Yushchenko is standing firm in his demand for a repeat of the 2nd round, rather than the completely new elections Kuchma wants.

I saw a statement by Solana, the chief EU intermediary, that it could take up to a month to perform the necessary legal changes. Kuchma is saying it might take three months to have a new vote. Bartender, I'll have whatever they've been drinking. There's no way the Opposition is going to let their people sit in the snow for 3 months. The only way even the one month time-frame is conceivable is if it comes with some sort of iron-clad, double-strength insurances. And I'm having trouble thinking of what those could be.

It begins to look like the situation might be resolved without bloodshed, and for once the country might be truly united, rather than torn into two: a Ukranian segment and a satellite of Russia.

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The Ukraine, Oh My!—

Tuesday, at midnight, Kuchma's constitutional term of five years as President ended. Theoretically, Ukraine is without a president.

Via Tulipgirl.

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In your thoughts and prayers. I still think there's a chance bloodshed can be averted, and that the country will stay intact. But I'm worried.

Pray for freedom, democracy—and the safety of the protesters on both sides.

(Orange image via Dean Esmay, who got it from Secular Blasphemy. Please also see Le Sabot Post-Moderne, Tulip Girl, Daniel W. Drezner, and Chrenkoff, all of whom are updating regularly on the situation.)

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