Victor Yanukovych was the Fourth President of Ukraine. He served from February 2010 until his removal from power in February 2014 as a result of mass protests. The protests started when Yanukovych, in December 2013, refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union. Instead he signed a loan agreement with the Russian government.
The protests led Yanukovych to flee Ukraine for Crimea and eventually Russia, where he has appeared by Vladimir Putin’s side on occasion.
Looking at Yanukovych’s trajectory, there are numerous coincidences with Donald Trump. Both Trump and Yanukovych:
- hired Paul Manafort as a consultant.
- rejected prior administration’s close ties with the European Union.
- sought to tie their countries’ foreign policy priorities to Putin’s.
- are believed to have misstated their finances
- are believed to have relyied on Russian government entities to finance their campaigns and lifestyles
Oh, and there’s the weird one. At a press conference in 2013, Yanukovych winked at Putin. Trump is reported to have winked at Putin today.
There are suspected coincidences as well. A run-off election which Yanukovych won in 2004 was overturned due to widespread reports of ballot-stuffing and voter intimidation. Trump’s 2016 victory is believed by many to have been the result of interference.
Yanukovych enjoyed the support of a significant portion of the Ukranian population who support Putin based on ethnic/religious identity. Trump enjoys the support of the American far-right, who see the Russian president as an ally, based on ethnic/religious identity.
With so many “coincidences”, can we wonder whether Trump has Yanukovych’s exit plan. If things get tough here, can we expect him to flee?