In all of this it is important not to overlook the moderates in Ukraine. With the exception of the gratuitous downgrading of Russian as an official language, the early decisions of the Rada are noteworthy for the initial absence of provocations. And in response to the decision on the language law RFE/RL reported that prominent Lviv residents wrote an open letter to the interim government urging against “hasty and ill-considered decisions.” To make the point of the importance of national unity, some Lviv residents voiced solidarity with Ukraine's predominantly Russian-speaking regions by switching to Russian for one day on February 26. More of this would be a good sign.

Richard Burt is a former assistant secretary for Europe and former US Ambassador to Germany. Lee Feinstein is a former principal deputy director of policy planning and former US ambassador to Poland.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Mstyslav Chernov. CC BY-SA 3.0.