Thousands of protestors continued to gather in Ukraine yesterday to protest its government’s decision to scrap a trade and association deal with the European Union in order to focus on boosting ties with Russia.

But is it all that clear cut? Analysts are pointing towards the fact that Russia is using trade leverage to convince the Ukrainian government that its future lies with the Kremlin, and in doing so, offering a discount for Russian natural gas imports.

Ukraine is also hampered by terms and conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund in return for a bailout. In fact, key Ukrainian politicians have dismissed the economic aid offered by the EU as being a pittance, in comparison to what Russia is offering.

But there is more behind it. President Viktor Yanukovych had also been under pressure by the EU to free jailed former Premier Yulia Tymoshenko, something that he has been putting off for months. The EU ratcheted up pressure of late, and out of the blue Ukraine froze its association and trade agreement with the EU.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said in a statement yesterday that the deal remains on the table. They criticized Russia for pressuring its neighbor, arguing that the agreement with Ukraine was conceived as "a win-win where we all stand to gain." Perhaps the EU is biding its time, hoping to win over the hearts and minds of the people of Ukraine, who have already had a revolution seeking a more Western society. That happened in 2004 and was dubbed the Orange Revolution. Since the government’s announcement, thousands of Ukrainians have taken to the streets to protest the decision.

But the country’s Prime Minister - Mykola Azarov hinted that authorities would not tolerate the kind of 24/7 sit-in that brought Orange Revolution leaders to power in 2004. One of those leaders was Tymoshenko. It seems that Ukraine might be stumbling backwards and heading down the route of repression and a controlled state.

But will people power prevail once more? The pressure from Russia has been extreme and Ukraine’s pursuit of better ties with the west was met by trade restrictions by Russia, coupled with cutting off of natural gas supply.

Round-the-clock rallies are planned for the rest of the week in a bid to urge President Yanukovych to change his mind and sign the agreement at a summit in Lithuania this Friday. But it seems quite a far-fetched notion, at this stage.

The EU has made it policy to keep growing and its borders have gradually expanded East and South in the past decades. For a while, it seemed like Ukraine (and Georgia) were well on track to becoming members of the bloc, but it is clear that the leverage that Russia has is enormous – as was seen when the Russian Federation intervened in the Georgia conflict.

There is no doubt that the story is the next big one. A large swathe of Ukrainians want integration with the west. The next Presidential election in Ukraine will be in 2015 and current heavyweight champ Vitali Klitschko has been touted to be a very popular choice. He is based in Germany and is known to be pro-West. But in the meantime, it is Yanukovych who is in power and he is calling the shots.