This past weekend, Lenin fell his from pedestal and an estimated 500,000 people packed the streets of Kyiv. Tuesday evening, in a further escalation of Ukraine's Euromaidan protests, riot police moved to disperse crowds from Independence Square. Today, President Viktor Yanukovych is due to meet with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, after already having met with US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, Ukraine's previous presidents, and Russian President Vladimir Putin about the crisis. Everyone wants to know: what will happen next?
RFE/RL journalists Maryana Drach, Natalia Churikova, Natalya Sedletska, and Brian Whitmore, and Kyiv-based analyst Yevhen Hlibovytsky discussed where Ukraine is headed in a Google+ Hangout on Thursday December 12:
Google+ Hangout -- Euromaidan: What's Ahead For Ukraine?
Watch the Hangout here:
Maryana Drach - has been Director of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service since June 2013. An international affairs specialist who joined the Service in 1996, Drach was appointed Managing Editor in August 2012. Drach also hosts the Services' daily radio program "Liberty Today," which summarizes and analyzes key developments in Ukraine and on the international scene.
Natalia Churikova - began her career as an economic correspondent with an interest in foreign policy, especially European and Euro-Atlantic integration. A journalist with RFE/RL since 1995, Churikova launched in 2005 the program "European Liberty" (later "Europe Connect"), which features topics selected by an online audience and secures answers to audience questions from people living in western Europe.
Natalya Sedletska - has worked as a TV journalist based in Kyiv, and is known for her investigative reports into the public procurement process in Ukraine. She is currently completing a Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellowship with RFE/RL.
Yevhen Hlibovytsky - founder of pro.mova, a communications consultancy dedicated to values research and focused on modernization issues in the former Soviet countries. A former journalist who in 2002 helped found the television station "5 kanal," Hlibovytsky lectures at Kyiv-Mohyla Business School and Lviv Business School of Ukrainian Catholic University.
Brian Whitmore (Hangout Moderator) - is the Europe Desk Editor for RFE/RL's Central Newsroom and the writer of "The Power Vertical" blog
We invite you to post questions in advance and follow updates for live links to the Google+ Hangout on Twitter and Facebook.