And what gives Ukraine the idea that there are “no strings attached”? Because the Russians said so?
FREE FREE FREE money!!! If Ukraine will order in the next 5 minutes, Putin will double the free money, just pay separate shipping and handling! (strings attached?) How long before we see Russian troops again in Kiev?
This will not go down well with the protestors...
Its a good deal - the EU would have demanded austerity and imposed significant hardship on Ukraine as part of the price for Western loans.
And that would have several harmed Yanukovych’s supporters in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east. What would have been the political upside for him? Nothing and like any risk-averse politician, he wants to be re-elected in 2015.
Russia bailed out a friendly government in Ukraine and decided to make a life a lot easier for it. Its saved the country from economic collapse and stabilized the political situation until new presidential elections take place in 2015.
Ukraine can get a lot more from Russia than from the West, which is never going to bail the country out. The foolish “Euromaidan” movement in the Ukraine has just been saved from itself.
If you believe this is "no strings attached", I've got some swampland in Florida to sell you.
“All that’s left is our friendship.”