In a real sense, the two battles are the same. Russia has long manipulated Ukrainian politics, both subtly and openly, buying politicians, corrupting gas deals and perverting business. In 2006, I sat in a splendid gilded room with the Ukrainian president, Viktor Yushchenko, and listened as he told me that the Orange Revolution — Ukraine’s first attempt to throw off its corrupt leadership — was failing, thanks to Russian pressure, and why it wasn’t his fault.
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