An Analysis On The 'How And' Why Former Ukrainian President Yanukovych Fled The Country During The Height Of This Year's Protests

Riot police set up water cannons to shoot at protesters in Kiev last February. But shortly after, a mass defection of the president’s allies quickly led to his downfall. Credit Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

Andrew Higgins and Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times: Ukraine Leader Was Defeated Even Before He Was Ousted

WNU Editor: This is a must read investigation by The New York Times into the final hours of Mr. Yanukovych’s rule ....

.... based on interviews with prominent players, including former commanders of the Berkut riot police and other security units, telephone records and other documents — shows that the president was not so much overthrown as cast adrift by his own allies, and that Western officials were just as surprised by the meltdown as anyone else.

I would not only say Western officials .... but also Russian officials. Everyone expected the security forces to protect him, but in hindsight it is now easy to see that when former Ukrainian President Yanukovych agreed with the protestors to launch an investigation into how the police/security officials conducted themselves in handling the Kiev protests .... even though they were following orders and that a number of them had already been killed .... these same security forces decided that enough was enough and they withdrew their support. Coupled this with top security officials literally deserting their posts .... justifiably fearing prosecution .... the dye was cast .... everyone who mattered deserted the Ukrainian President. Faced with little if any security .... and facing death threats from protest leaders .... no one should then be surprised that Ukrainian President Yanukovych decided that it would be prudent for him to flee the country ... .which he did.

I suspect that there is still more to the story than what is being told .... and I expect such news and info will only be known when the situation in the east has settled, and that all participants contribute to an unbiased investigative body who will be given the power to look at the events that led to a president fleeing the country. I would also call for an investigation on who made the decisions .... and why were this decisions made .... on who was to run the interim government when Yanukovych's government collapsed. This is important because it was this interim government that set into motion the crisis and the conflict that continues to exist in Ukraine today.