Ukraine government faces test in local elections
http://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-government-faces-test-in-local-elections/a-18804293
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's ruling coalition faces a test of its record so far in local elections. But as separatist eastern regions boycotted the poll, voting in nearby Mariupol was said to be on hold.
Ukraine government faces test in local elections
25.10.2015
The municipal polls in Ukraine come during a period of relative calm in fighting.
Twenty months have passed since the ex-Soviet nation attracted worldwide attention through protests that ultimately toppled Kremlin-backed leader Viktor Yanukovych, and resulted in Russia's subsequent annexation of Crimea.
The pro-Moscow eastern revolt that followed resulted in more than 8,000 deaths, including those who died in the crash of flight MH17 , and saw Ukraine stripped of strategic naval bases and its industrial heartland in the east. With worries growing that the country could be slipping off the global radar,
Ukraine also became Europe's second-poorest country. Many fear that the situation in the east of the country could turn into a "frozen conflict" with terms dictated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
With the prospect of Kyiv ever winning back the Crimean peninsula looking increasingly unlikely, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's Solidarity party has started to flag in opinion polls - to the benefit of his opposition, including pro-Russian movements.