According2Sam #108 'Separatist'

After a violent coup d'etat in Ukraine in 2014 that forced the democratically elected president, Viktor Yanukovych to flee the country, the Obama administration installed a new government. Under the new Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the first thing the new parliament did was pass legislation banning the Russian language, the native language of 20 million Ukrainians. In response to these actions and many other acts of hostility towards the Russian speaking people of Ukraine the communities of Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk voted to separate from Ukraine. In Crimea the people voted for immediate annexation by Russia, which was accepted by the Russia Federation. The people of Donbas voted for independence and they have been fighting for their independence for 8 years, more than 14,000 people of that region have been killed. How are these two breakaway regions fueling the current war in Ukraine, and how are they key to ending the war? Join the conversation and get answers to these questions and more on According2Sam episode #108.