Jeffrey D. Stephaniuk: Religion and peacemaking in Ukraine
Foreign governments are experiencing varying degrees of inertia at developments in Ukraine beginning January 20, 2014, referred to by Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk as the St. John the Baptist Day violence. “The conflict still can be walked back from the precipice through quick negotiations, and a stand-down by the Yanukovych camp,” writes Adrian Karatnycky on the Atlantic Council website. “But Yanukovych and the hardliners who now shape his policy need to hear from Western leaders, including President Obama, directly and in no uncertain terms.”