The street jugglers are out in action and a festive buzz is growing in the Ukrainian capital where the centre has been transformed into one big Euro soccer ‘welcome’ zone. But the closer the Euro 2012 tournament gets, the more the problems mount for President Viktor Yanukovich.

The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Dieter Graumann, on Sunday criticized the German Football Association after only three members of the national team visited the Auschwitz death camp on Friday in the run up to the Euro 2012 soccer championship...

Politics and sports are often an incendiary mix, as the controversy now swirling around the Euro 2012 football championship, to be co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland, demonstrates... European Union leaders have said that they will boycott matches held in Ukraine...

The European Commission and other political leaders are planning to boycott the event because of the alleged ill-treatment of the country’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko who has been on hunger strike for several weeks...

The European Commission and other political leaders are planning to boycott the event because of the alleged ill-treatment of the country’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko...Lots of people say that sport and politics shouldn’t mix. But the reality is that they very often do and not...

Yelisieiev added that Euro2012 should be a "celebration of good will" among ordinary people instead of "making political stands."..."Millions of Ukrainians put their heart into making this celebration happen ... they deserve the highest recognition, not the cold shoulder.

The EU has been applying pressure on Ukraine, with some European leaders announcing a boycott of the upcoming Euro 2012 soccer tournament in Ukraine and others pulling out of a summit of Central and Eastern European leaders scheduled to take place in Ukraine later this month.

This summer the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship will be jointly hosted by Ukraine and Poland: An excellent opportunity for the European community to bond over its favorite sport, and for Ukraine, which for a long time has been aspiring EU membership, to promote its image.