kraine's Prime Minister has called on the opposition to stop escalating political tensions, warning, ‘anybody found guilty of violating the constitution and laws will be punished.’ Mass street protests (the largest since the pro-democracy Orange Revolution in 2004) began over a week ago, sparked by the government's decision not to sign an association deal with the EU. The EU wants to forge closer ties with Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and three states in the Caucasus - Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. All these former Soviet states have remained to some extent in Russia's sphere of influence since the Cold War ended. Years of negotiations culminated in a summit in Lithuania on 28-29 November. Ukraine and Armenia pulled out of an association agreement. Once on the path towards EU membership, countries (Turkey for example) receive millions of euros in EU funding for development projects. Ukraine has a population of 45 million and is one of Europe's biggest countries, dwarfing the other five partner states.