A police officer aims his shotgun during clashes with protesters in central Kiev, Ukraine. After two months of anti-government protests, modern Ukraine has never been so bitterly polarized. To be sure, Ukraine has long been divided. Russia and Europe have vied for dominance for centuries, causing deep cultural differences between the mostly Ukrainian-speaking western and central regions on the one hand, and the Russian-speaking east and south on the other. But as the crisis has deepened, each side has grown stronger in its convictions, and those who stood in the middle have been forced to choose sides. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, file)
A police officer aims his shotgun during clashes with protesters in central Kiev, Ukraine. After two months of anti-government protests, modern Ukraine has never been so bitterly polarized. To be sure, Ukraine has long been divided. Russia and Europe have vied for dominance for centuries, causing deep cultural differences between the mostly Ukrainian-speaking western and central regions on the one hand, and the Russian-speaking east and south on the other. But as the crisis has deepened, each side has grown stronger in its convictions, and those who stood in the middle have been forced to choose sides. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, file)