Mediaboss Marketing

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) The scars are fading now. The exit wound, a narrow, pink line that curves down the left side of her neck, is often hidden by her tangle of dark hair. The entry wound is smaller than a bottle cap.

And the young woman who became a symbol of Ukraine's protests who tweeted "I am dying" after a sniper's bullet tore into her on a cold February morning, and was suddenly the focus of international attention sometimes wonders just what it all achieved.

"So little has been accomplished," said Olesya Zhukovska, a 21-year-old hospital orderly from small-town Ukraine. She moved to Kiev when the protests broke out in late 2013, and spent months working as a volunteer medic in the sprawling protest camp that sprang up in the heart of the capital. "The blood that was spilled here, I really don't want it to be wasted. Because people are starting to forget."

"I'm a realist," Zhukovska said, struggling for a way to describe how she sees her country today.

It can be hard to be an optimist these days in Ukraine.

The economy is a wreck. The military and the police often seem completely powerless. Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that juts into the Black Sea, has been annexed by Russia. Thousands of people across the Russian-speaking east voted in a chaotic weekend referendum to break away from Kiev. Pro-Russian gunmen have seized control of government buildings in some eastern cities and clashed sporadically with Ukrainian forces.

Zhukovska is particularly furious at Ukrainians who have demonstrated against Kiev's rule.

"They should probably have their citizenship revoked," she said. "If they want to live in Russia, they are free to pack their bags and move to Russia."

Just a few months ago, things had seemed so clear, so hopeful.

In late February, as Zhukovska was recovering in a Kiev hospital and reading thousands of messages of support, President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia as his internal support crumbled. Interim leaders pledged to root out Ukraine's crippling corruption. Yanukovych's mansions clichd strongman monuments filled with polished marble, gilt fixtures and car-sized chandeliers were opened to public view.

View post:
Ukraine Protester Hopes Blood Not Spilled In Vain