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Ukraine's presidential race creates fertile ground for 'yellow vests' protests — analyst

Director of the New Ukraine institute Andrei Yermolayev explained that in Ukraine there existed a problem for "left-of-center well-educated youth who find no answers in the current political lineup"

KIEV, April 2. /TASS/. Ukraine’s presidential election is creating fertile soil for new protest movement projects by both left-wing and right-wing radical groups, the director of the New Ukraine institute, Andrei Yermolayev, told a news conference in Kiev on Tuesday.

"I have no doubts that fertile soil is being created for more projects. On the one hand, there are revolutionary-minded urban teenagers - a product of Arsen Avakov (Ukraine’s Interior Minister - TASS) and paramilitary groups, such as National Squads. Also, there is every reason to expect Ukraine’s own ‘yellow vests’," he said.

Yermolayev explained that in Ukraine there existed a problem for "left-of-center well-educated youth who find no answers in the current political lineup."

"There is a large segment of civilian activists, who may soon evolve into a young left-wing movement, no less active than the movement of national patriots," Yermolayev said.

The analyst pointed to the ‘yellow vests protests’ in France, saying they might serve as a source of inspiration for Ukrainians.

"The experience and practice of continued turmoil in Paris, where the demands and slogans turn ever more radical, may serve as an example for similar demonstrations in Ukraine," he warned. "There may appear a young and active left-wing movement relying on the experience of European ‘yellow vests’, while the European roots of this movement makes it still more attractive."

Yermolayev sees the key factor for protests in Ukraine in the issue of the social state and its fate neither candidate - Pyotr Poroshenko or Vladimir Zelensky - is able to address.

"Both candidates’ stance is confined to neo-liberalism, unaccountable government and self-made enterprise, while everything else that concerns strong social institutions, Ukraine’s traditional and crucial problem of social protection remains on the sidelines," he said.

The analyst believes that in Ukraine there exists a potential for new opposition, but its future will largely depend on personal relations and contradictions among the project’s participants.