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Russia bails out Ukraine, but at what cost?

Russia has agreed to purchase 11 billion euros of Ukraine’s debt and to cut the price its neighbour pays for gas by about a third. The deal could be an economic lifeline for the cash-strapped country. But there are concerns that it will put Kyiv firmly back into Moscow’s orbit. Ukrainian economic analyst Ihor Burakovsky told euronews: “By definition we are losing our sovereignty and we are becoming a kind of highly indebted country with all the political consequences, but [a] highly indebted country to one creditor, which is Russia.” At a pro-EU rally in Kyiv, opposition leader Vitali Klitschko told euronews he was worried about what the Ukrainian government may have offered up in order to secure Russia’s help: “We would hope that this hasn’t been done at the expense of Ukraine’s national strategic facilities, which could lead to negative consequences and dependence on our Eastern neighbour,” Klitschko said.