The Blood Being Shed in Kiev is on Putin’s Hands

The Streetwise Professor ^ | February 18, 2014 | The Professor

[Ivan Mazepa]

nor have they said that Ukraine is prohibited from engaging in future trade deals with Europe.

Please see #16 again. When Ukraine tried to sign the EU trade agreement, Russia closed off the borders to trade, going against your statement above entirely.
Russia closes border

Objective economic analysis supports the position that the Russian deal is the better choice for Ukraine.

I'm assuming you're talking about the $15b bailout loan, not the Customs Union (because The Union is suicide for Ukraine, that's clear)
OK, I would love to see that analysis. It's a bond with 5% coupon rate, purchased in instalments every few months or so to ensure political compliance - not much of an analysis.

So save your scary Russian bed time stories

I'd call it having a historical perspective. Given its history of subjugating one neighbour after another, one has to be gullible to take Russian offers of economic partnerships at face value.

[mac_truck]

When Ukraine tried to sign the EU trade agreement, Russia closed off the borders to trade, going against your statement above entirely.

Two things...first is that at no time did Russia threaten to 'close off' its borders to imports from Ukraine. Your linked article makes that quite clear. Second, Russia has not made entry into the Eurasian trade union a condition of their agreement with Ukraine and have left that decision entirely in Ukraine's hands.

Contrast that with the EU/IMF position demanding the release of opposition leader Yulia Tymashenko as a pre-condition of their trade agreement to see which side was exerting more overt and wide ranging pressure.

[Ivan Mazepa]

Granted, “closing borders” is an exaggeration as it implies complete stoppage of trade. What Russia did was to create miles long delays at the border hampering trade and causing financial losses to the Ukrainian side. Russian message was, it doesn’t want the EU-Ukraine Trade deal. I don’t see what right it has to tell a neighbouring country what economic/political affiliation to go with.

By November of 2013, the EU had dropped the demand to release Tymoshenko. IMHO, it was a mistake they didn’t do so sooner.