Ukraine's political crisis: Battle between West and Russia

The deadly clashes in Ukraine prompted sanctions from European Union,Canada while Obama administration has threatened to impose  more sanctions on the country’s embattled leaders. These could include economic sanctions, which Obama would implement via executive order.

This move comes after foreign ministers at the European Union voted to introduce their own sanctions against Ukrainian officials.The sanctions, unanimously approved by EU foreign ministers at an emergency meeting, include a travel ban to the 28-nation bloc and the freezing of assets held in EU countries.
 Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that  Viktor Yanukovych has given his commitment to EU envoys he was willing to hold early elections this year both presidential and parliamentary, Polish after clashes between anti-government protesters and police in Kiev left dozens dead.

At least 70 people were gunned down and several hundreds injured in the deadliest violence that erupted between anti government and Ukraine police officers.

Coalition protesting against Victor's association with Kremlin
The first protests broke out in Ukraine in November 2013  after President Viktor Yanukovych's government rejected a far-reaching trade pact that had been years in the making with the European Union in November 2013 in favour of stronger ties with Putin's Russia.

President Viktor Yanukovych ordered the  suspension of preparations for the pact between Kiev and Brussels after talks between the Russian and Ukrainian prime ministers – and after Yanukovych's party in parliament rejected six bills aimed at meeting the EU's terms, concerning the release from prison of the former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, and allowing her to move to Germany, ostensibly for treatment.

Ukrainians want the government to forge closer economic ties with Europe and turn away from Kremlin's orbit as demonstrators allege that Ukrainian politicians and oligarchs played a pivotal role in Yanukovych's calculation, with Russia.

The sudden U-turn by Ukrainian government made the oppoosition furious  as there were high stakes for  country with 45 million people and the protests is part of a wider battle between the West and Russia .
  Ukraine voted for independence and separated from the Soviet Union in  1991.The Orange Revolution in 2004-5 saw a series of protests in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter intimidation and direct electoral fraud.

In September Armenia succumbed to Russian pressure and turned its back on years of negotiations with the EU in a move that stunned Brussels.

Actually EU offered a trade agreement and a political association deal stemming from 2005  to Ukraine under  its "eastern neighbourhood policy"  that includes  trade and political benefits to post-Soviet states traditionally falling within Moscow's orbit.

The ministers from Germany, France and Poland said they were in for a night of “tough negotiations” in Ukraine as they went into the president’s office for the second time late in the evening. Yanukovych alos had telephonic conversations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The fragile truce between between Viktor Yanukovych administration and opposition leaders collapsed later in the day as the situation quickly deteriorated with killing of 100 people in just one day in Kiev alone , while 70 Ukrainian police officers have reportedly been captured by protesters.

Yanukovych 's support is also fading  as  Ukraine’s parliament passed  a resolution calling for state security forces to end their “anti-terrorist” crackdown and release all imprisoned protesters.