Euromaidan Euromaidan ( ; , , ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv. The p ...

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Евромайдан, ''Jevromajdán'') was a wave of demonstrations and

civil unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, civil strife, or turmoil, are situations when law enforcement and security forces struggle to maintain public order or tranquility. Causes Any number of things may cause civil di ...

in Ukraine, which began on the night of 21 November 2013 with large public protests demanding closer

European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...

. Protesters also stated they joined because of the dispersal of protesters on 30 November and "a will to change life in Ukraine". The scope of the protests evolved over subsequent months,Timeline: Political crisis in Ukraine and Russia's occupation of Crimea
,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

(8 March 2014) and by 25 January 2014 the protests were fueled by the perception of widespread

government corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...

, abuse of power, and violation of

human rights in Ukraine Human rights in Ukraine concern the fundamental rights of every person in Ukraine. Between 2017 and 2022, Freedom House has given Ukraine ratings from 60 to 62 on its 100-point scale, and a "partly free" overall rating. Ratings on electoral pro ...

.Yanukovych Offers Opposition Leaders Key Posts
,

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

(25 January 2014) By February 2014 the protests had largely escalated into violence, resulting in the Revolution of Dignity and the resignation of Azarov's government and ousting of President Yanukovych. This resulted in the outbreak of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. __TOC__

21–29 November 2013

Euromaidan started in the night of 21 November 2013 when up to 2,000 protesters gathered at

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Maidan Nezalezhnosti Maidan Nezalezhnosti (, ) or Independence Square is the central town square of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. One of the city's main squares, it is located on Khreshchatyk Street in the Shevchenko Raion. The square contains the iconic Ind ...

and began to organize themselves with the help of

social networks A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of meth ...

."Ukrainians to celebrate Day of Dignity and Freedom on November 21, Unity Day on January 22"
,

Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...

(13 November 2014)
Противники приостановки евроинтеграции Украины в ночи вышли на улицы Киева ''Opponents of suspension Ukraine's European integration in the night took to the streets of Kyiv''
, NEWSru (22 November 2013) After he heard of the

Ukrainian government The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine (), is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine. As the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, it was formed on 18 April 1991, by the Law ...

decree to suspend preparations for signing of the

Association Agreement A European Union Association Agreement or simply Association Agreement (AA) is a treaty between the European Union (EU, or its predecessors), its Member States and a non-EU country or bloc of countries that governs bilateral relations. Areas fre ...

on 21 November 2013, opposition party

Batkivshchyna The All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" (), referred to as Batkivshchyna (), is a political party in Ukraine led by People's Deputy of Ukraine, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. As the core party of the former Yulia Tymoshenko B ...

faction leader

Arseniy Yatsenyuk Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk (born 22 May 1974) is a Ukrainian politician, economist and lawyer who served two terms as Prime Minister of Ukraine – from 27 February 2014 to 27 November 2014 and from 27 November 2014 to 14 April 2016. He was t ...

called, via Twitter, for protests (which he dubbed #Euromaidan) on Maidan Nezalezhnosti. The blog of Yuri Andreev on ''

Korrespondent.net The ''Korrespondent.net'' ( ; ; literally: ''Correspondent'') is an online newspaper in Ukraine launched in 2000. It is a sister project to the ''Korrespondent'' printed weekly magazine also containing the latter's reduced free online version. ''K ...

'' asked people to gather on Maidan Nezalezhnosti that day at 22:30. Approximately 2,000 people converged in the evening of 22 November on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) to protest the decision of the Ukrainian government to suspend the process of integration of Ukraine into the European Union. In the following days, the opposition and pro-EU parties led the protests. A larger rally took place on 24 November, when 50,000 to 200,000 people gathered on Kyiv's Maidan Nezalezhnosti. The pro-EU demonstrators carrying Ukrainian and EU flags chanted "Ukraine is Europe" and sang the national anthem as they marched toward European Square for the rally. News agencies claimed this to be the largest protest since the

Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution () was a series of protests that led to political upheaval in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005. It gained momentum primarily due to the initiative of the general population, sparked by the aftermath of the ...

of 2004. After a small group of protesters attempted to storm the

Government Building Government Buildings () is a large Edwardian building enclosing a quadrangle on Merrion Street in Dublin, Ireland, in which several key offices of the Government of Ireland are located. Among the offices of State located in the building are: *D ...

, police used

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...

to disperse them. Police officials claimed that protesters had been first to use tear gas and smoke grenades. According to the General Prosecutor's Office, more than 400 people were injured from 24 November to 13 December, including 200 policemen and 18 students. On 25 November jailed former Prime Minister

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( Hrihyan born 27 November 1960) is a Ukrainian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005, and again from 2007 until 2010; the first and only woman in Ukraine to hold that position. She has been ...

began a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

in protest of "President Yanukovych's reluctance to sign the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement".Jailed Tymoshenko on hunger strike over EU U-turn by Ukraine
,

Euronews Euronews (stylised in lowercase) is a pan-European television news broadcasting, news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. It is a provider of livestreamed news, which can be viewed in Europe and North Africa via satellite, and in most of the ...

(25 November 2013) A 26 November 2013 statement by Ukrainian Prime Minister

Mykola Azarov Mykola Yanovych Azarov (; ; née, né Pakhlo, Cyrillic: Пахло; born 17 December 1947) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician who was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 11 March 2010 to 27 January 2014. He was the First Vice Prime Minister an ...

saying "I affirm with full authority that the negotiating process over the Association Agreement is continuing, and the work on moving our country closer to European standards is not stopping for a single day" did not appease protesters who blockaded the government building during the cabinet session during which Azarov made the above-mentioned statement. The same day the city of Kyiv installed a heating tent (hot tea and sandwiches were served) at Maidan Nezalezhnosti, where about 2,000 students were rallying. According to ''

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...

'' this was part of a "Ukrainian authorities' attempt to portray themselves as allies with the demonstrators who, in many cases, are calling for the government to resign if it doesn't sign an association agreement with the European Union this week". The same day it was reported that social media accounts of protesters were being hacked and disreputable messages being posted in place of rally news and commentary. Euromaidan 2013 Mstyslav Chernov-14

On 26 and 27 November 2013

Lithuanian Parliament The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (), or simply the Seimas ( ; ), is the unicameral legislative body of the Republic of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendments to ...

Speaker Loreta Graužinienė and

Polish Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

Member

Marcin Święcicki Marcin Święcicki (born 17 April 1947) is a Polish politician and economist. He is a former deputy minister of economy, former minister for foreign economic relations as well as a former city mayor of Warsaw. Early life and education Święcic ...

spoke to the protesters at Maidan Nezalezhnosti. Musical acts like

Ruslana Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko (, ; born 24 May 1973),Руслана – Биография< ...

put on performances for demonstrators on Maidan Nezalezhnosti.Руслана Лижичко разом із однодумцями оголосила голодування на майдані ''Ruslana together with like-minded hunger strike on Maidan''
, TSN (25 November 2013) On 27 November it was reported that the

Kharkiv Polytechnical Institute The Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute ( KhPI, full official title National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute", , НТУ "ХПІ") is a public technical university in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Founded in 1885, it is the second-oldest ...

staff allegedly checked class attendance, threatening

truant Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorized, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will and usually does not refer to legitimate excused absences, such as ones related to medic ...

students who attend the pro-EU rallies in Kyiv with expulsion. In other universities, administrators forbade students from joining pro-EU protests, posting political commentary to social media networks, and wearing Ukraine-EU ribbons. According to

the protesters in Kyiv numbered ten thousand people, many of them students. Euroaidan 2013 Mstyslav Chernov-10

At noon of 28 November (the eighth day of protests) about 3,000 people gathered on Maidan Nezalezhnosti; no

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

symbols were reported, only Ukrainian flags and European Union flags. The crowd grew to 4,000 by the evening while it was again entertained by popular Ukrainian artists.Musicians liven up EuroMaidan stage
, ''

'' (29 November 2013) On 29 November 2013, it became clear that Ukraine did not sign the Association Agreement at the

Eastern Partnership The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative of the European Union, together with its member states, and six Eastern Europe, Eastern European countries. The EaP framework governs the EU's relationship with the post-Soviet states of Armen ...

Summit in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. The number of protesters in Kyiv swelled to 10,000.Ukraine fails to sign landmark deal at EU summit
,

(29 November 2013)Ukraine's rejection of EU deal brings rival rallies at home
,

(29 November 2013)Ukraine opposition demands leader resign after EU snub
,

Seven News Seven News (stylised 7NEWS) is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high definition studios in South Eveleigh, Sydney, while its flags ...

(30 November 2013) In

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, protesters numbered some 20,000. As in Kyiv the Lviv protesters locked hands in a human chain, symbolically linking Ukraine to the European Union (organizers claimed that some 100 people even crossed the Ukrainian-Polish border to extend the chain to the European Union). Euronews reported that protesters in Kyiv believed the rally should go on and were calling for the second Azarov Government's and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Viktor Yanukovych's resignation.

30 November attack on protesters

On the night of 30 November 2013 at 04:00, armed with batons,

stun grenade A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade, flashbang, thunderflash, or sound bomb, is a Non-lethal weapon, non-lethal explosive device used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. Upon detonation, a stun grenade produces Flash blindness, ...

s, and tear gas, Berkut special police units attacked and dispersed all protesters from Maidan Nezalezhnosti while suppressing mobile phone communications. The police attacked not only the protesters (most of whom failed to put up resistance) but also other civilians in the vicinity of Maidan Nezalezhnosti, when the Berkut forces chased unarmed people several hundreds of meters and continued to beat them with batons and feet. Initially, 35 people were injured as a result of the militia raid, including a

cameraman and a photographer. Other protesters were detained.dispersed maidan (БЕРКУТ РОЗІГНАВ МАЙДАН)
.

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

. 11 November 2013 Most protesters were students. At 09:20 Berkut besieged the

St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery The St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery is a monastery in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. It is located on the edge of the bank of the Dnipro river, to the northeast of the St Sophia Cathedral. The s ...

where approximately 50 Euromaidan activists, including the injured, found sanctuary. Police spokeswoman Olha Bilyk justified the police raid by saying that protesters were interfering with preparations to decorate the square for the Christmas and New Year's holidays, and accused them of throwing stones and burning logs.

Minister of Internal Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Vitaliy Zakharchenko Vitaliy Yuriyovych Zakharchenko (, Russian: Виталий Юрьевич Захарченко, born 20 January 1963) is a Ukrainian and Russian politician who is a senior consultant at Russia's Rostec state corporation. He previously served as ...

later apologized and claimed "riot police abused their power" and promised a thorough investigation.Pro-EU protesters in Kyiv call for government's ouster

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

(2 December 2013) Via state television he added "if there are calls for mass disturbances, then we will react to this harshly". In an official statement, Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor General Anatoliy Pryshko confirmed that 79 people were injured during the raid, including 6 students, 4 reporters, and 2 foreigners; 10 people were hospitalized. In addition, 7 policemen were also injured. On 30 November 2013 by 13:00 another spontaneous meeting was taking place at St. Michael's Square near the St. Michael's Monastery as Maidan Nezalezhnosti continued to be guarded by the Berkut formations. Ambassadors from some ten countries of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, among which was the

Ambassador of the European Union An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

in Ukraine,

Jan Tombiński Jan Tadeusz Tombiński (born 4 October 1958, Kraków) is a Polish historian and diplomat, Poland ambassador to Slovenia (1996–1998), France (2001–2006), permanent representative to the European Union (2007–2012), and EU ambassador to Ukra ...

, visited protesters at the meeting. According to

Hromadske.TV hromadske (; lit. ''Public'') is an independent online media in Ukraine. The station was announced in June 2013 by 15 journalists, before commencing operations on 22 November 2013. It is registered as an NGO.Batkivshchyna The All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" (), referred to as Batkivshchyna (), is a political party in Ukraine led by People's Deputy of Ukraine, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. As the core party of the former Yulia Tymoshenko B ...

UDAR The Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform of Vitali Klitschko (, using the acronym UDAR Vitali Klitschko () translates to "strike" or "punch", ) is a Political parties in Ukraine, political party in Ukraine headed by retired

and

Svoboda Svoboda () means "freedom" in various Slavic languages. It may refer to: People * Svoboda (surname) Organizations Media * Radio Svoboda, operated by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty * ''Svoboda'' (newspaper), a daily Ukrainian language newspa ...

set up "Headquarters of National Resistance" throughout Ukraine.

1 December 2013 Euromaidan riots

A series of riots occurred in several locations of downtown Kyiv, Ukraine, on 1 December 2013 in response to a violent police crackdown on Euromaidan's peaceful protesters and journalist on the night of 30 November. The day saw the highest numbers of journalists injured by police in a single event since Ukraine's independence in 1991. Also, 1 December became the first instance of a public building being occupied by protesters in the modern history of the country.

2–7 December 2013

The day after the riots, peaceful protests continued to take place and occupy

in Kyiv, with tens of thousands attending, while thousands blocked the main Cabinet buildings. According to

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

correspondent

David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of t ...

"They have set up almost a military camp of sorts, and have erected a very impressive barricade around the perimeter of the demonstration". David M. Herszenhorn of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described the square as "oddly festive" and added that "Protest leaders, sensing that momentum had turned to their advantage, continued to add infrastructure to their operation, bringing in television monitors and erecting the small tent city". Elsewhere, Lviv, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk announced a general strike in solidarity with the movement. 1,000 Internal Troops (National Guard) were deployed to Kyiv around key government buildings by the Interior Ministry. The parliament committee on statehood and self-governance recommended a vote of no-confidence in Prime Minister

's government, opening a way for such a vote on 3 December. The

Kyiv City Council Kyiv City Council (, ), also known as Kyivrada (), is the city council of Kyiv municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The members of city council are directly elected by Kyivans and the council is chaired by the M ...

building remained occupied by protesters. Workers at Kyiv City Council were still allowed to enter and work. On 3 December the Azarov Government survived the vote of no-confidence with 186 MPs supporting the motion, and all but 1 Party of Regions MP abstaining from the vote; at least 226 votes were needed.Ukrainian parliament fails to dismiss government
,

(3 December 2013) However; the

Communist Party of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU or KPU) is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 and claimed to be the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine, which had been banned in 1991. In 2002 it held a "unifi ...

, that had not supported this vote, stated that on 4 December they would put forward their own no confidence motion, based on the government's management of the

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

. If the 186 MPs supporting 3 December motion support 4 December no-confidence motion – which they have stated they will – 4 December motion will pass with over 226 votes.Ukraine government survives no-confidence motion
,

(3 December 2013) In his speech to parliament, Azarov warned protesters occupying the Kyiv City State Administration that force could be used to remove them. In the morning of 3 December

described the situation in Kyiv as "calm at the moment, however tensions have remained high". Clashes with riot police did occur outside of parliament. In the afternoon, in freezing conditions, several thousand protesters rallied on Maidan Nezalezhnosti where opposition leaders gave passionate speeches. After the speeches, the crowd moved to the Presidential Administration Building.Anti-government protesters persist in Kyiv
,

(3 December 2013) According to the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

over 10,000 demonstrators rallied on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in the evening of 3 December; it also noted that it had recorded no incidents. Demonstrators started to pitch about 10 army tents (including a campfire) on the square, and about 10 on

Khreshchatyk Khreshchatyk (, ) is the main street of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. The street is long, and runs in a northeast-southwest direction from European Square (Kyiv), European Square through the Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Maidan to Bessarabska Sq ...

; while Ukrainian performers entertained the demonstrators.

reported that opposition leaders

Oleh Tyahnybok Oleh Yaroslavovych Tyahnybok (, born 7 November 1968) is a Ukrainian politician and far-right activist who is the leader of the Svoboda political party.Vitali Klitschko Vitalii Volodymyrovych Klychko (; ; born 19 July 1971), known as Vitali Klitschko, is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer. He serves as mayor of Kyiv,Activists pitching army tents at Independence Square in Kyiv
,

(3 December 2013) The next day they met with

German Foreign Minister The federal minister for foreign affairs () is the head of the Federal Foreign Office and a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The current office holder is Johann Wadephul. Since 1966, the minister for foreign affairs has often also simultaneous ...

Guido Westerwelle Guido Westerwelle (; 27 December 1961 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician who served as foreign minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice-Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011, being the first openly gay perso ...

in Kyiv (including a walk on Maidan Nezalezhnosti).German minister snubs Ukraine leaders on Kyiv visit
,

(4 December 2013) Euromaidan-12-04-104815

On 5 December 2013 the protest continued with several thousand demonstrators continuing to rally on Maidan Nezalezhnosti; an

Interfax Interfax () is a Russian news agency. The agency is owned by Interfax News Agency joint-stock company and is headquartered in Moscow. History As the first non-governmental channel of political and economic information about the USSR, Interfax ...

correspondent reported that "the situation on the square is calm" and that wooden barricades were installed on Instytytska and Horodetskoho Street.Thousands rally on Kyiv's Maidan
,

(5 December 2013) An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported that police buses blocked several streets leading to the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

(parliament) and that about 150 "people waving flags of

and the red-and-black flags of Ukrainian nationalists" were rallying in front of the central entrance to the

Budynok Uryadu Ukrainian Government Building (, romanized: ''Budynok Uriadu'') is located in the center of Kyiv on Hrushevsky Street in the vicinity of Verkhovna Rada building. It serves as the administrative building for the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. ...

(the administrative building for the

Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine (), is the highest body of state Executive (government), executive power in Ukraine. As the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republi ...

).Police block part of govt quarter in central Kyiv
,

(5 December 2013) Meanwhile, several hundred supporters of the

Party of Regions A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

and President Yanukovych pitched

a camp A Camp is the solo side project of Nina Persson, vocalist for the Swedish indie pop band The Cardigans, her husband, composer Nathan Larson, and former Atomic Swing guitarist Niclas Frisk. Persson formed A Camp when The Cardigans took a break ...

(encircled by a metal fence) on the square in Mariinskyi park (in front of the main entrance to the Verkhovna Rada). The

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

security group summit in Kyiv advanced as planned.Journalists protest outside a Kyiv OSCE security summit
,

(5 December 2013) Viktoria Siumar, a prominent journalist and former head of Institute of Mass Information, reported that Secretary (head) of the

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, ( NSDCU; , ''RNBOU'') or RNBO, is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukraine on issues of national security and defense. It is a state agency tasked wi ...

Andriy Klyuyev Andriy Petrovych Klyuyev (, Russian: Андрей Петрович Клюев, born 12 August 1964), also spelled as Andrii Kliuiev, is a Ukrainian businessman and politician, who was ranked as 7th "Most influential person in Ukraine" in 2011 ...

, met with TV managers on 6 December urging them to limit Euromaidan coverage. This took place concurrent to Prime Minister Azarov's critical statement of the media in the country, in which he stated there was a lack of coverage towards pro-government rallies, a "disproportionate bias in coverage," and that "everywhere is dominated by only one point of view, and it is a distortion of reality, away from democracy." The same day the Director of the

Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is the principal institution of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) dealing with the "three generations of human rights, human dimension" of security. The O ...

within the OSCE

Janez Lenarčič Janez Lenarčič (born 6 November 1967) is a Slovenian diplomat who has been serving as European Commissioner for Crisis Management in the First von der Leyen Commission 2019–2024. He is a former director of the Office for Democratic Instituti ...

stated that the government's demand that protesters unblock governmental buildings was "lawful" and "fully consistent with the acceptable restrictions on the

freedom of assembly Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right or ability of individuals to peaceably assemble and collectively express, promote, pursue, and defend their ideas. The right to free ...

". However, he also stated that 30 November court ban on demonstrations in central Kyiv was "an unqualified ban on demonstrations, in other words on peaceful assemblies, which is disproportionate and in contradiction to Ukraine's OSCE commitments". Jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister

ended her

that she had started on 25 November in protest of "President Yanukovych's reluctance to sign the DCFTA" on 6 December.Tymoshenko stops hunger strike
,

(6 December 2013) The same day police and a court order blocked a planned protest at President Yanukovych's private residence Mezhyhirya. An unscheduled meeting between President Yanukovych and

Russian President The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

took place in the south Russian city of

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

on 6 December 2013. Ukrainian

Foreign Affairs Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral rela ...

Leonid Kozhara Leonid Oleksandrovych Kozhara (, Russian: Леонид Александрович Кожара, born 14 January 1963) is a former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. In 2013 he was the OSCE's (Organization for Security and Co-operation in ...

stated the cooperative agreements signed in Sochi were primarily in the fields of in

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

, aircraft construction, and engineering. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov elaborated on the matter, saying the two met to discuss the drafting of a strategic partnership agreement, eliminate disputes over trading and economic issues, and in a separate announcement told journalists that the president would soon visit Moscow on 17 December, where a "major agreement" would be signed. This prompted opposition leader

to issue a stern warning towards Yanukovych, saying "If Yanukovych tries to sign anything with Russia about the

Customs Union A customs union is generally defined as a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff.GATTArticle 24 s. 8 (a) Customs unions are established through trade pacts where the participant countries set u ...

it will lead to a bigger wave of protests."Russia and Ukraine leaders seek partnership treaty
,

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

(6 December 2013) Later,

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

's senior editor Edward Lucas, citing his own diplomatic sources, reported on his Twitter that Yanukovych had allegedly signed a pact with Russia which included terms whereby Ukraine would receive $5 billion and a natural gas price reduction in exchange for an agreement to join their Customs Union at a later date. Upon hearing the news, opposition leaders expressed fury, and demanded that the alleged documents be made public immediately. The governments of Russia and Ukraine categorically denied any Customs Union talks took place during the meetings,Ukraine's capital Kyiv gripped by huge pro-EU demonstration
,

(8 December 2013) however, Russian presidential spokesman

Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov (, ; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat serving as the Kremlin Press Secretary, spokesman for President of Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin since 2012. At the same time, Yatsenyuk claimed to have information that the planned 17 December Ukrainian-Russian ''strategic partnership agreement'' would involve Ukraine's joining of the Customs Union, but added that Ukraine's parliament would be unlikely to ratify it. The

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (, ) is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the foreign relations of Ukraine. The head of the ministry is the Minister of Foreign Affairs. History Originally, the ministry was establ ...

stated on 10 December that "No documents were expected to be signed and, naturally, no documents were signed during the

meeting"; it also informed that a Ukrainian delegation would attend a 13 December CIS Economic Council in Moscow were "Special attention will be given to the aspects of the realization of the treaty of a free trade zone of October 18, 2011".

8–10 December 2013

8 December marked the third Sunday in a row of mass protest in Kyiv. Opposition leaders billed the day as the "March of a Million", and all opposition parties claimed the turnout met the 1,000,000 mark. According to Interfax-Ukraine, initial reports estimated the number "greatly exceed 100,000 people," which matched police estimates.

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

correspondents on the ground and leading world media reported that 500,000 attended. A survey of protesters conducted on the 7th and 8th found that 92% of those who came to Kyiv from across Ukraine came on their own initiative, and 8% came as part of a political party or civil society organization. In terms of cause, 70% said they came to protest the police brutality of 30 November, and 54% to protest in support of the European Union Association Agreement signing. Among their demands, 82% wanted detained protesters freed, 80% wanted the government to resign, and 75% want president Yanukovych to resign and for snap elections. After the rally, a large group of Ukrainian protesters toppled the statue to Lenin in Kyiv. Unlike the previous week, police officers on the scene withdrew without attempting to defend the monument. After the statue was taken down, the group shouted "Yanukovych, you'll be next!", and proceeded to smash the statue with a sledgehammer, decapitate it, and dismantle it for souvenirs; in place of the statue was planted a Ukrainian and red-and-black

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric warfare, asymmetric nature: small irregular forces ...

flag. The Svoboda party took credit for the statue's destruction, with several party MPs, including Ihor Miroshnichenko, joining the crowd and taking part in the act. Protesters traveling from

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

who were en route to Kyiv to support the protests were denied entry into the country at the border crossing near

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

(where protests have been banned by the local police), while other reports saw traffic officers puncturing the tires of a bus carrying Belarusians. The same day, Party of Regions MP

Oleh Tsarev Oleg Anatolyevich Tsaryov (; ; born 2 June 1970) is a Ukrainian and Russian businessman, politician and former separatist official in eastern Ukraine. Tsaryov is a former People's Deputy of Ukraine elected for the Party of Regions in 2002, wh ...

requested to the Security Service and Foreign Ministry of Ukraine to deport or/and ban foreign organizers and political consultants, document scans of which he posted (and later removed) on his Facebook account. Among those named in the document notably included

Andreas Umland Andreas Umland (born 1967) is a German political scientist studying contemporary Russian and Ukrainian history as well as regime transitions. He has published on the post-Soviet extreme right, municipal decentralization, European fascism, post- ...

Stanislav Belkovsky Stanislav Aleksandrovich Belkovsky (; born 7 February 1971) is a Russian political analyst and communication specialist. Belkovsky is a commentator on a variety of political issues, including Russian oligarchs, such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky. I ...

Taras Kuzio Taras Kuzio is a Professor of Political Science at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( Kyiv, Ukraine). His area of study is Russian and Ukrainian political, economic and security affairs. Education Taras Kuzio is of Ukrainian de ...

Gleb Pavlovsky Gleb Olegovich Pavlovsky (; 5 March 1951 – 27 February 2023) was a Russian political scientist who also described himself as a "political technologist". During the Soviet era, he was prosecuted as a dissident. From 1996 to 2011, he was a pol ...

, and former Georgian president

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...

, among others. In the early morning of 9 December, some 730 ''Tiger'' and ''Leopard'' special forces, whose base of operations had previously been blocked by a motorcade of protesters in

Vasylkiv Vasylkiv (, , ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Stuhna, Stuhna River in Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast, central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Vasylkiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. First mentioned in the 10th ce ...

(outside Kyiv), broke through the cordone with support from Berkut troops to travel into the city. The same day three metro stations in the center of the city – Teatralna,

Khreschatyk Khreshchatyk (, ) is the main street of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. The street is long, and runs in a northeast-southwest direction from European Square through the Maidan to Bessarabska Square and the Besarabsky Market. The offices ...

and

were closed, and trains ran through them without stopping, after the Kyiv police had received an anonymous bomb threat. Teatralna station was reopened late afternoon after police completed a fruitless search for possible explosives.Kyiv's Teatralna subway station opened, no explosives found – Interior Ministry
,

(9 December 2013) In the afternoon the

reported that Ukrainian police had begun dismantling protest camps in front of government buildings in Kyiv. The protesters had been given until Tuesday (10 December) to leave. They were blockaded with cars, barricades and tents. According to the BBC, no clashes had been reported,Ukraine police dismantle Kyiv protest camps
,

(9 December 2013) but its reporter in Kyiv, Steve Rosenberg, described the situation as "tense with various rumours circulating" and that priests were urging the police not to use force, while blessing them. Meanwhile,

reported about more police movements and removal of protest barricades in Kyiv. The

issued a statement that "MPs have informed us that spade handles and other objects that could be used to cause bodily injuries have been distributed to the protesters at the opposition's self-defense posts". It also stated no action was being taken on

. Opposition leader (of the Batkivshchyna party)

meanwhile complained about violence against demonstrators and stated "We do not beat policeman, we do not use force, we do not have any weapons and we do not have any special means".Opposition leaders say their roadblocks in Kyiv streets attacked – Tiahnybok
,

(9 December 2013) Fellow opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko concerted with that. Svoboda leader

Oleh Tyahnybok Oleh Yaroslavovych Tyahnybok (, born 7 November 1968) is a Ukrainian politician and far-right activist who is the leader of the Svoboda political party.Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation �СБ, ФСБ России (FSB) is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterin ...

(FSB) and police had arrived in Ukraine "With the aim of organizing mass disorder." Euromaidan in Kyiv 03

The website of opposition party

went

offline In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on li ...

on 9 December following a police raid on their headquarters. At their office on Turivska Street in

Podil Podil ( ) or Podol ( ), also known in English as the Lower City,Ivankin, H., Vortman, D. Podil (ПОДІЛ)'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. is a historic neighborhood in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is located on a floodplain terrace ...

, "In the corridor we have people with machine guns, trying to break through into server rooms," said Ostap Semerak, a Batkivshchyna member, and that some troops climbed in through its windows. It was described by witnesses that a special detachment of police in tactical gear destroyed all equipment in the offices, which also housed the newspaper INTV, ''Evening News'' and website ''Censor.Net.ua'', who were raided in similar fashion shortly after The server room was described as "a mess", and the offices themselves were ransacked, and security cameras were destroyed. An Associated Press reporter confirmed broken glass and smashed computers in the offices. "The attackers did not introduce themselves or show any warrant," Censor.net editor Yuri Butusov told

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

. "They ordered all our staff to move away from their computers and to not use their mobile phones. Then they confiscated all our equipment. It was a criminal raid designed to eliminate a site that has been carrying information about the 'Euromaidan' movement." A police spokeswoman initially denied police had conducted any operations at the address, however, the Interior Ministry later admitted the attack on the Batkivshchyna office was sanctioned by a court order for "two criminal cases", pertaining to alleged "fraud and abuse of office". The police said they received a tip from a 'group of citizens' that "illegally seized computer equipment worth Hr 350,000" was on the premises, and that officials from the company 'abused their authority'. During the raid, computer equipment, database servers, and documents were confiscated as evidence. Shorter after, UDAR evacuated their offices on Horky Street, which in a press release stated was in relation to the raid on Batkivshchyna. On 10 December at 1:00am, the Ukrainian government cut off the power in the

Kyiv City State Administration Kyiv City State Administration (, commonly abbreviated as KMDA ) is the national-level branch of the Government of Ukraine that administers Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The current Head of the Kyiv City State Administration is Vitali Klitschko; ...

used by protesters as a headquarters. It was reported that protesters feared aggressive measures would be taken. At the same time, 1:00am, public servants with their faces hidden and 100 riot police cleared the barricade at the cross section of the Hrushevskoho street and the Kriposnyj provulok in Kyiv. MP

Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian former Manager (association football), football manager and Football player, player. Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest Striker (association football), strik ...

announced that police used their batons and kicked protesters. Hours later, 200 police advanced on the barricades on Lyuteranska and

Bankova Street Bankova Street (, ) is a street in central Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, located in the Lypky neighborhood of the Pechersk District. Most of the street is pedestrianised and closed-off, as it houses the Presidential Office of Ukraine and variou ...

, with hundreds of protesters holding their ground, including

Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in , . (born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held multiple heavyweight world championships betwe ...

. There, provocateurs penetrated into the ranks of the protesters, threatened with sticks, and used tear gas against the police,

Catherine Ashton Catherine Margaret Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland (born 20 March 1956) is a Labour Party (UK), British Labour politician who served as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of th ...

held meetings in Ukraine on 10 and 11 December "to support a way out of the political crisis." Accompanied by a small delegation, she met President Yanukovych, governmental officials, opposition figures, and representatives of civil society. President Yanukovych also had a roundtable meeting with all three former presidents

Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk (, ; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed the Lisbon Protocol, undertaking to give up Ukrai ...

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (, ; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine, serving from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. The only president of Ukraine to serve two terms, his presidency was marked by demo ...

, and

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...

. During the meeting, discussed were the release of Euromaidan detainees, the implementation of future EU-related reforms, and Kuchma alluded to the possible dismissal of Prime Minister Azarov. The opposition and organizers of Euromaidan were not participants in the roundtable meeting. During the meeting President Yanukovych stated, "I have said many times that the program of the Party of Regions since 1997 has the strategic aim of Ukraine's integration with Europe" and that he had ordered the government to work on minimizing the economic risks to Ukraine that the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU would entail, by the time of the EU-Ukraine summit scheduled for the spring of 2014. It was also decided "that there will be a bilateral commission, with the European Union on the one side and Ukraine on the other" (with occasional consultations with Russia) to normalize relations between Ukraine and the EU.

European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy The Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement is the member of the European Commission in charge of overseeing the Enlargement of the European Union, accession process of prospective new member states and European Neighbourhood Policy, rela ...

Štefan Füle Štefan Füle (born 24 May 1962) is a former Czech Republic, Czech diplomat who served as the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy from February 2010 until October 2014. Early life and education Füle was born ...

responded that the EU was "willing to maintain dialogue with Russia to convince it that an Association Agreement will not harm its economic interests, but it will not hold tripartite negotiations on the matter". He also added that the EU was willing to provide financial aid to Ukraine for implementation of the Association Agreement. During 10 December talks, President Yanukovych expressed the wish to renegotiate the terms for the signing of the Association Agreement "If the agreement were signed as it is, it would create a lot of difficulties in the farming industry". On 10 December

leader

Oleh Tyahnybok Oleh Yaroslavovych Tyahnybok (, born 7 November 1968) is a Ukrainian politician and far-right activist who is the leader of the Svoboda political party.

11 December 2013 police clash with protesters

In the early morning of 11 December, thousands of coordinated Internal Troops (VV) and Berkut surrounded the

(square) in order to clear out all remaining protesters, barricades, and encampments from its periphery in what was described as a 'determined and unexpected crackdown on protesters'. Temperatures fell to −13C (+9F), the coldest night of the winter to date in Kyiv. Several police officers confirmed they had been given orders to clear barricades from the boundaries of the square but not remove the tent camp that has sprung up inside the space. City workers used a bulldozer and chainsaws to clear away remaining barricades from the previous night's advance. There were no immediate signs of violence, and no attempt by riot police to take down camps located within the square itself. Many police were trapped behind protester lines during the scuffles but demonstrators allowed them to regroup and in some instances even handed back their shields. Police later pressed forward again. The fiercest battle came on the north side of the square, where hundreds of black-helmeted riot police struggled for several hours against lines of protesters who wore orange hardhats distributed by organizers. Barricadeproryzna

Taxi drivers and subway conductors played a notable role in organizing the rise of protesters, spreading the word of the crackdown and in the case of taxi drivers, offering rides into the center of the city. By 5:13am, the crowd had swelled from 5,000 to 25,000 in just 9 hours. The confrontation between protesters and police during the removal of barricades is said to have reenergized the demonstrations. The barricades were rebuilt shortly after the departure of the police The police stated that the clearing of the Maidan (police referred to it as "territory landscaping work") was carried out at night "to avoid additional noise and inconvenience to traffic and people, since the working week continues".Klitschko calls night police operation in Kyiv center "senseless and brutal"
,

(11 December 2013) Later that morning

Ukrainian Interior Minister The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (; ; ) is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the interior affairs of Ukraine. History Name *People's Committee of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR (1919–1930, regional aut ...

stated "I want to calm everyone down: there will be no dispersal of Maidan

he rally at Maidan Nezalezhnosti He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...

Nobody is infringing upon the people's right to a peaceful protest. However, the rights and legitimate interests of other people cannot be ignored. The capital city's normal functioning cannot be disrupted." His Deputy Minister Viktor Ratushniak stated that afternoon, "If the enforcement service goes to the police and starts carrying out the court's ruling, the police will accordingly be involved. If the enforcement service does not request help from the police, the latter will stay out". Witnesses claimed 8 buses of "Leopard" Interior Troops had left deployment from

Vyshhorod Vyshhorod (, ; ) is a city in Kyiv Oblast, central Ukraine, situated immediately north of the capital Kyiv, and part of the Kyiv metropolitan area. It is on the right (western) bank of the Dnieper river and, as the location of the Kyiv Hydro ...

to Kyiv. In a separate incident, local media reported that a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

of 220 Berkut troops based in Kirovohrad refused to accept orders to deploy to Kyiv, renouncing the use of force against peaceful protesters. The Interior Ministry denied the reports. Cityhallhose

Overnight, activists formed self-defense groups to guard Kyiv City Hall. Police attempted to raid the building by mid-morning, which it swarmed with busloads of riot troops; but were held back by fire hoses, firecrackers, and smoke bombs. The steps to the building were also slicked with ice and cooking oil. By the afternoon, demonstrators on Khreshchatyk, at City Hall, and the Maidan had held off, and then outnumbered police, who then left the area. Clashes during the raid and a standoff at City Hall sent 30 people to seek medical aid and fifteen to hospital, including nine police, officials stated. People hospitalized with frostbitten feet, head injuries, broken ribs, arms and legs, as well as back injuries. The

reported an instance of a Berkut officer blatantly clubbing a man in a Batkivshchyna party jacket as they advanced. Among the injured was Svoboda MP

Andriy Illenko Yuri Herasymovych Ilyenko (, 18 July 1936 – 15 June 2010) was a Ukrainian film director, screenwriter, cinematographer and politician. He directed twelve films between 1965 and 2002. His 1970 film ''The White Bird Marked with Black'' was en ...

, who was seen in photos with his head bloodied and bandaged. Prime Minister Azarov denied that force has been used against demonstrators, calling the event "clearing the roads". 11 demonstrators were arrested during the clashes. Protest leader

is in town. People here are determined not to live in a police state." The incident also drew immediate criticism from European and American politicians, including

and

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

Kyiv Passenger Railway Station Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi ( , ) is a railway station in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The station is a railway hub consisting of several railroad station buildings, along with its own repair facilities the Kyiv Electric Railcar Repair Shop, a railway d ...

and Terminal D of

Boryspil International Airport The Boryspil International Airport () , also known as Kyiv Boryspil Airport, is an international airport in Boryspil, east of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is Ukraine's largest airport, serving 65% of its passenger air traffic, including al ...

were closed for hours and reopened after bomb threats made against them turned out to be

hoaxes A hoax (plural: hoaxes) is a widely publicised falsehood created to deceive its audience with false and often astonishing information, with the either malicious or humorous intent of causing shock and interest in as many people as possible. S ...

. Also on 11 December Ukrainian Prime Minister Azarov stated that there will be no discussion about the

Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia The Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Union () or EAEU Customs Union () is a customs union of 5 post-Soviet states consisting of all the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia) ...

at a next round of negotiations with Russia: "There will be no discussion of the Customs Union and the government is not drafting any documents. I want to stop the rumors right away". He also requested EUR€20 billion from the

"to provide conditions to minimize losses for the Ukrainian economy" in connection with signing the Association Agreement; adding "The government also favors the soonest possible signing of that agreement".

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

spokesman

Olivier Bailly Olivier is the French form of the given name Oliver. It may refer to: * Olivier (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Olivier (surname), a list of people * Château Olivier, a Bordeaux winery *Olivier, Louisiana, a rural popula ...

responded (the same day) "We consider that Ukrainian prosperity and Ukrainian future cannot be subjected to a call of tender where the highest bidder will get the price".Ukraine seeks 20 bln euros in EU aid
,

(11 December 2013) Former president

weighed in on the economics of Ukrainian-European integration, estimating that adopting European standards should actually cost US$400 million. Talks with between President Yanukovych and the EU's

and US Assistant Secretary of State

Victoria Nuland Victoria Jane Nuland (born July 1, 1961) is an American diplomat who served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2021 to 2024. A former member of the US Foreign Service, she served as Assistant Secretary of State for European an ...

continued. After their meeting, Ashton stated that President Yanukovych had promised her he would take steps to resolve the crisis in Ukraine within 24 hours. Meanwhile, Euromaidan's Denys Shevchuk left the roundtable meeting with former presidents Kravchuk, Kuchma, and Yushchenko, claiming, "This is just a fiction". By the evening, thousands of protesters worked in large groups to shovel snow into sandbags and rebuild barricades, supported by metal railings and other debris. And President Yanukovych released an address to Ukrainians: "I invite representatives of all the political forces, priests, members of the public to a nationwide dialogue. I'm ready to participate in such a round table". The address also stated the government would act "solely within the law and will never use force against peaceful assemblies".Yanukovych invites representatives of all political forces, public, clergy to nationwide dialogue
,

(11 December 2013) But opposition leader

responded there could only be talks once their demands had been met; and according to Vitali Klitschko, the police actions of the night before had "closed off the path to compromise". Klitschko added the next day that if talks (for him this was only possible after the protesters demands had been met) would be held they "should take place with the participation of European representatives and members of civil society".

12–16 December 2013

On 12 December, it was reported that in addition to barricades being rebuilt, there was no longer any room for tents to be set up on Maidan. Landsbergismaidan

Chief of the

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( ; abbreviated as SBU [] or SSU) is the main Internal security, internal security agency of the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian government. Its main duties include counter-intelligence activity and combati ...

(SBU) Oleksandr Yakymenko invited experts from the Russian

Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation �СБ, ФСБ России (FSB) is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterin ...

(FSB) to advise in how to disperse of the protests; said Batkivshchyna MP

Hennadiy Moskal Hennadiy Hennadiyovych Moskal (; 11 December 1950 – 17 March 2024) was a Ukrainian politician who served as governor of Zakarpattia Oblast from 2015 to 2019.Boris Nemtsov Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov; (9 October 195927 February 2015) was a Russian physicist, liberalism in Russia, liberal politician, and outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin. Early in his political career, he was involved in the introduction of reform ...

was barred entry into the country by border services. Over 10,000 remained in Maidan overnight. A roundtable discussion was held on 13 December involving the president, three leaders of the opposition, representatives of the government, parliament, clergy and civil society. There was no live broadcast on any national channel, and the live stream of two TV channels was disrupted when opposition leaders spoke. Following the roundtable, former president Kravchuk blasted the blackout of the broadcast, saying "I organized the roundtable. It is outrageous that they turned it off. It is outrageous when the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing." Controversially, it was uncovered that

Dmytro Levin Dmytro (, ) is a Ukrainian name, derived from the Greek Demetrios. Nicknames Nicknames of the name Dmytro include: * Dima (; most common) *Dimochka (Дімочка) *Dimulia (Дімуля) *Dimusha (Дімуша) *Dimusia (Дімуся) *Dmytry ...

, who claimed to represent a student organization involved in Euromaidan, is actually a member of Young Regions, the youth wing of the pro-presidential Party of Regions. The real student leaders of Euromaidan said they were not invited to take part in the discussion, and Levin's statements (which included claims of being "used" by opposition politicians) were said to be uncharacteristic for the real leaders of the student strikes, such as stopping repressions against students and dismissal of Education Minister

(13 December 2013) After the talks Klitschko stated "Not a single step was made to meet the opposition, I have the impression that the authorities today did not listen to a single one of the demands of the opposition". A Ukrainian court did free nine people arrested on 30 November on 13 December. Also that day, and after his delegation had talked to European Commissioner

, First Deputy Prime Minister

Serhiy Arbuzov Serhiy Hennadiyovych Arbuzov (, ; born 24 March 1976) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian former banker and politician who briefly served as acting prime minister of Ukraine from 28 January to 22 February 2014, following the resignation of Mykola Azarov amid ...

stated Ukraine will "soon sign" an agreement on closer ties with the

(during an interview with

). However, in relation to this Prime Minister Azarov defended the decision to hold off on signing the Association Agreement, saying had Ukraine "signed an association agreement with the European Union at current conditions, this would have inevitably led to its economy's collapse". The previous day, Azarov suggested postponing the deadline for the entry into force of certain provisions of the agreement on a free trade area with the EU, which EU officials rejected. On 14 December President Yanukovych suspended the

Head of Kyiv City Administration Kyiv City State Administration (, commonly abbreviated as KMDA ) is the national-level branch of the Government of Ukraine that administers Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The current Head of the Kyiv City State Administration is Vitali Klitschko; ...

Oleksandr Popov Oleksandr Pavlovych Popov (; born 22 November 1960) is a Ukrainian politician, businessman, former head of the Kyiv City State Administration. Biography He graduated Tyumen Civil Engineering Institute and Higher School of the KGB in Kyiv. From ...

, Deputy Secretary of the

Volodymyr Sivkovych The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, ( NSDCU; , ''RNBOU'') or RNBO, is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukraine on issues of national security and defense. It is a state agency tasked wi ...

.Yanukovych suspends Kyiv City Administration Head Popov and Deputy NSDC Secretary Sivkovych from office, say decrees
,

(14 December 2013) Later the same day the

General Prosecutor of Ukraine The Prosecutor General of Ukraine (also ''Procurator General''; , ) heads the system of official prosecution in courts known as the Office of the Prosecutor General (, or, before 2020, ). The prosecutor general is appointed and dismissed by th ...

's Office handed "a notification on suspicion of abuse of power when ordering the police actions of 30 November 2013" out to Sivkovych and Popov; and to former Head of Kyiv police Valeriy Koriak and his Deputy Head Petro Fedchuk. According to Prosecutor General of Ukraine Viktor Pshonka "All four officials will soon be placed under home arrest". The previous day opposition leader Yatsenyuk had stated during the roundtable discussion "Those who made illegal orders, and those who executed them, must be held to account, for the whole country to see. Those who have been arrested as activists of the Maidan must be released – That is all". Meanwhile, on Maidan, popular Ukrainian rock band

Okean Elzy Okean Elzy () is a Ukrainian rock band. It was formed in 1994 in Lviv, Ukraine. It is the most famous and successful Ukrainian music band. The band's vocalist and frontman is Svyatoslav Vakarchuk. In April 2007 Okean Elzy received ''Fuzz Maga ...

performed to "possibly hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians," and estimates for the day placed over 200,000 in Kyiv to support the movement. The size of the protest held at 200,000 the following day, according to Interfax. U.S. senators

Chris Murphy Christopher Scott Murphy (born August 3, 1973) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from the state of Connecticut since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the U ...

(D-CT) and

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

(R-AZ) addressed the crowds, expressing American support for their cause. EU Enlargement Commissioner

said the EU is stopping talks on the Association Agreement because of the Yanukovych administration's unreasonable demands, of which Ukrainian authorities have sought $27 billion in aid to sign. In a tweet issued by Füle, he said there was a divergence between the words and deeds of the president and government regarding the Association agreement, and that "their arguments have no grounds in reality."

17 December 2013 Ukrainian–Russian action plan

Russian President

and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych held the sixth "interstate consultation" on 17 December in Moscow, where they signed the

17 December 2013 Ukrainian–Russian action plan Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number) * One of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017, 2117 Science * Chlorine, a halogen in the periodic table * 17 Thetis, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American maga ...

.Action plan for settlement of trade restrictions to deepen Ukrainian-Russian strategic relations, says Yanukovych
,

(17 December 2013) This consisted of the

Russian National Wealth Fund The Russian National Wealth Fund () is Russia's sovereign wealth fund. It was created after the Stabilization Fund of the Russian Federation was split into two separate investment funds on 30 January 2008. The National Wealth Fund (NWF) is co ...

buying $15 billion of Ukrainian Eurobonds and the cost of Russian natural gas supplied to Ukraine lowered to $268 per 1,000 cubic metres (this price was $400).Russia cuts Ukraine gas price by a third
,

(17 December 2013)Ukraine to issue Eurobonds; Russia will purchase $15 bln, says Russian finance minister
,

(17 December 2013) As part of the action plan, Russia committed itself to the restoration of its customs regulations on imports from Ukraine that had existed before mid-August 2013.Eased Russian customs rules to save Ukraine $1.5 bln in 2014, says minister
,

(18 December 2013) According to President Putin and Russian presidential press secretary

Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov (, ; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat serving as the Kremlin Press Secretary, spokesman for President of Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin since 2012.Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia The Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Union () or EAEU Customs Union () is a customs union of 5 post-Soviet states consisting of all the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia) ...

was not addressed. Peskov also added "it is our principled position not to interfere in Ukraine's affairs" and accused other countries of doing the opposite.Putin's spokesman: Ukraine's accession to Customs Union was not discussed at Tuesday meeting
,

(17 December 2013) According to President Yanukovych the trade situation between Russia and Ukraine required urgent intervention, and that it should be coordinated with other

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

(CIS) countries. He also added referring to

Russia–Ukraine relations There are currently no diplomatic or bilateral relations between Russia and Ukraine. The two states have been at war since Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, Russia invaded the Crimean peninsula in February 2014, and Russian-control ...

, "We'll have to learn lessons for the future and not to repeat such mistakes". And President Yanukovych also stated that Ukraine and Russia should strengthen cross-border and inter-regional cooperation "which create convenient conditions for the people". In response to the agreement, the opposition parties blocked parliament in order to defer its ratification since they quickly denounced the plan. And approximately 50,000 continued their protest on

. Where opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko told the crowd "He resident Yanukovichhas given up Ukraine's national interests, given up independence and prospects for a better life for every Ukrainian". The opposition leaders vowed to continue their protests, if necessary through New Year and Orthodox Christmas (celebrated on 7 January annually), they repeated their demands for the firing of the second Azarov Government, early presidential and

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

.Putin: Russia to buy $15 billion in Ukraine bonds
,

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

(17 December 2013) Also on 17 December,

issued a statement regarding an alleged attempt on leader Vitali Klitschko's life. According to the party in a statement to western diplomats, when Klitschko's private jet was attempting landing at Boryspol airport on 24 November, the plane was denied landing at an altitude of 100m, and a visual clearance of 50m. They allege this was an attempt to repeat an accident similar to the

2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash On 10 April 2010, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft operating Polish Air Force Flight 101 crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk, killing List of casualties of the Smolensk air disaster, all 96 people on board. Among the victims were the president ...

18–31 December 2013

On 18 December Prime Minister

stated that without the deal with Russia "bankruptcy and social collapse would have awaited Ukraine". He also added that there was no way Ukraine could have signed the EU Association Agreement as Ukraine would have had to accept unfeasibly stringent

IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of la ...

conditions for economic reform. The protest on Maidan Nezalezhnosti continued on 18 December 2013. On 19 December President Viktor Yanukovych stated "We have decided to pause

n the Association Agreement N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

to work out on what kind of conditions should be in place for us to sign the Free Trade Zone Agreement part of the Association Agreement And this answer should be found by the government. There isn't any contradiction about Ukraine's course on the Uintegration issue. Generally, this is not about the integration, this is about economical relations". Although he added "If we talk about the work on the free trade agreement part of the EU Association Agreement this will take us some time, and we still have a lot of uncertainties. Surely, we should see how this will benefit us in the short term, midterm, and long term". He also added that Ukraine may combine the EU Association Agreement with observer status in the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia and the

Eurasian Economic Union The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)EAEU is the acronym used on thorganisation's website However, many media outlets use the acronym EEU. is an economic union of five post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The EAEU has an integrated single ...

. And that Ukraine expects to be granted observer status in the

, "As concerns the

Eurasian Union The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)EAEU is the acronym used on thorganisation's website However, many media outlets use the acronym EEU. is an economic union of five post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The EAEU has an integrated singl ...

, we filed a written bid in

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

in August this year to consider Ukraine's participation in the Eurasian Union as an observer". The same day Polish Foreign Minister

Radosław Sikorski Radosław Tomasz Sikorski (; born 23 February 1963), also known as Radek Sikorski, is a Polish politician, journalist and statesman who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland since 2023, previously holding the office between 2007 and ...

stated "I do not know any formal facts that should say that it is impossible to sign the association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union". Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on 17 December deal between Russia and Ukraine (which he described as an "act of brotherly love"): "This is not at all linked to (protests at) Maidan, nor with the EU-talks that Ukraine leads... We're just seeing that Ukraine is in dire straits and we should support her". On 20 December high-ranking EU-officials stated that the EU is still ready to sign the Association Agreement "as soon as Ukraine is ready for it", that this agreement was also beneficial for Russia and that the EU "is totally not concerned about the fact that Ukraine is signing agreements with Russia". On 20 December 2013

Prosvita Prosvita (), since 1991 officially known as All-Ukrainian Prosvita Society named after Taras Shevchenko () is an enlightenment society aimed to preserve and develop Ukrainian culture, education and science, that was created in the nineteenth cen ...

building in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

was thrashed by unknown. On 21 December, Volodymyr Maralov, a member of the activist anti-corruption group ''

Road Control Road Control (, ) is a non-governmental organization in Ukraine advocating for road safety, transparency of road police, and human rights. Road Control was founded in Kyiv (Ukraine) in 2008 as a reflection of the increasing level of irresponsibili ...

'' was shot and his car burned at approximately 11p.m. on Shevchenko Square in Kyiv while being attacked by two men and one accomplice. According to the surgeon who removed the bullet, it was within 6 inches of his heart. The group claims the attack was part of an ongoing effort by officials to stop the organization's reporting on police corruption. The assailants allegedly demanded Maralov expose the whereabouts of a group member who received political asylum in the United States in November, and for the location of incriminating data. Earlier this month, Road Control journalist Andriy Dzyndzya and his lawyer Viktor Smaliy were remanded into custody for two months; Dzyndzya is accused of stealing keys to a front-end loader that was used on 1 December riots, his lawyer is accused of attacking a judge. On 22 December, the fifth ongoing week of the protests, 100,000 rallied in Kyiv. During this day major opposition parties and

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

s established a nationwide political movement called ''

Maidan People's Union The Maidan People's Union () was an alliance in Ukraine formed by several political parties and non-partisan individuals and public organizations on the fifth Sunday (22 December 2013) of the Euromaidan-protests with the aim of "building a new Ukr ...

''. And Klitschko told the crowds "We won't leave this place in any case. I'm inviting you to stand and celebrate the New Year here, on the Maidan".Klitschko invites Ukrainians to celebrate New Year and Christmas holidays on Maidan
,

(23 December 2013) On 23 December 2013 Russian presidential aide

Yuri Ushakov Yuri Viktorovich Ushakov (; born 13 March 1947) is a Russian and former Soviet diplomat who served as the Ambassador of Russia to the United States from 1998 until 2008. Since 2012, he has been an advisor to the President of Russia on foreign po ...

stated "there is no contradiction" in Ukraine's association with the EU and their observer status in the

and the

. On 24 December 2013 an armed assault was conducted in downtown of

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

on co-organizer of protest in

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

Dmytro Pylypets. He received 12 stab wounds. In the early morning of 25 December

Tetiana Chornovol Tetiana Mykolaivna Chornovol (; born 4 June 1979) is a Ukrainian journalist and civic activist, and one of the leaders in the Euromaidan protest campaign. She is known for investigative reports about corruption in Ukraine, as well as for her ...

, a well known

journalist, Euromaidan social-activist, and Batkivshchyna party member was brutally assaulted near

. Euromaidan activists called for a picketing of the

at 8am, in which hundreds attended, calling for

's resignation. Chornovol was hospitalized with a broken nose, a concussion and multiple bruises. Opposition parties accused the authorities of being behind the attacks, while a statement from Olena Bondarenko of the Party of Regions categorized the attack as spontaneous violence caused by Euromaidan, and blamed the opposition. On 27 December a law (drafted by the second Azarov Government) introduced criminal liability for the seizure of buildings "which leads to the disruption of their normal operation" in the

Criminal Code of Ukraine The legal system of Ukraine is based on civil law, and belongs to the Romano-Germanic legal tradition. The main source of legal information is codified law. Customary law and case law are not as common, though case law is often used in support ...

. On 29 December, re-energised by 25 December attack on Chornovol, tens of thousands gathered again in Kyiv. About 200 cars packed with protesters joined by over a thousand protesters marched on President Yanukovych's

Mezhyhirya residence The Mezhyhirya Residence (, ) is an estate in Ukraine where Viktor Yanukovych lived when he was Prime Minister of Ukraine, Prime Minister and then President of Ukraine and is now a museum displaying Yanukovych's luxurious lifestyle.Thousands protest outside Ukrainian president residence
,

(29 December 2013)Ukraine protesters take rally to Yanukovich’s residence
, ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' (29 December 2013)

1–15 January 2014

On New Year's Eve, 200,000 attended Euromaidan to jointly celebrate. On 1 January, 15,000 held a torchlight march through Kyiv in support of the 105th birthday of

Stepan Bandera Stepan Andriyovych Bandera (, ; ; 1 January 1909 – 15 October 1959) was a Ukrainian far-right leader of the radical militant wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, the OUN-B. Bandera was born in Austria-Hungary, in Galicia (Eas ...

, a controversial

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

-era nationalist. On 3 January, after being questioned by police, a Svoboda's MP

and his lawyer

Sydir Kizin Sydir Vasylyovych Kizin (; born 15 November 1975) is a Ukrainian lawyer and politician who briefly served as Governor of Zhytomyr Oblast from March to July 2014. He is a member of the Svoboda party. Early life and career Sydir Vasylovych ...

were attacked and brutally beaten outside of a police station in Kyiv. Both received extensive injuries. According to Svoboda, Illyenko was primarily diagnosed with a broken jaw and treated for a concussion; according to police, a broken nose. The attack occurred after the members of Svoboda came out of the Shevchenkivskyy's police station. The party called the attack an 'attempted murder'. According to Batkivschyna MP

Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov (, ; born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician of Armenian descent who served as the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine from 2014 to 2021. He was the Chairman of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration from ...

(on 9 January 2014) recently the protesters in Kyiv had experienced regular power cuts; to prevent this oppositions MPs did have five meetings with Kyiv city authorities and electricity suppliers and installed back-up generators. According to Avakov there had been no difficulties with taking rubbish out of

and taking wood into the square. On 10 January, Berkut riot police clashed with protesters near

Kyiv-Sviatoshyn Raion Kyiv-Sviatoshyn Raion () was a raion (district) in Kyiv Oblast of Ukraine, adjacent to the city of Kyiv which served as the administrative center for the raion. The city of Kyiv itself did not belong to the raion. The raion was abolished on 18 J ...

district court in

Sviatoshyn Sviatoshyn ( ; also or ) is a historical neighborhood and a suburb of Ukraine's capital Kyiv that is located on the western edge of the city area, in an eponymous municipality. Previously it was a dacha village ( summer colony) in a pine gr ...

neighborhood of Kyiv, where guilty verdicts against the so-called " Vasylkiv terrorists" were announced. The

Patriot of Ukraine The Patriot of Ukraine () was an ultranationalist organization in Ukraine founded in 1999, disbanded in 2004, revived in 2005 and defunct since December 2014. In its original form, it was launched in 1999 and became paramilitary wing of the Soc ...

group members were given 6-year sentences for 'trying to blow up a non-existent Vladimir Lenin statue' (a local city council already dismantled the Lenin monument before the alleged plot was discovered); critics called the court proceedings a sham. After the court verdict was announced, protesters (more than 100) decided to block the

prisoner transport Prisoner transport is the transportation of prisoners from one secure location to another. It may be carried out by law enforcement agencies or private contractors such as Prisoner Transportation Services. To extradite a suspected or convic ...

bus, after which hundreds of riot police were dispatched, who used tear gas and batons. More than a dozen people got injured, some of them seriously, with reports of multiple broken hands and legs, as well as head injuries. Opposition leader Yuri Lutsenko was among the injured, photographed with bloody head wounds and knocked unconscious before being taken to a hospital for intensive care. A witness account stated that police targeted Lutsenko, dragging him into a bus where he was beaten. Three members of the Svoboda Party were also injured; as well as two photojournalists, whose camera equipment was broken by police. European Union and American officials condemned the attack, with US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt saying "Lutsenko will be remembered as hero of EuroMaidan" for trying to intervene in the confrontation between police and protesters. The three opposition party leaders (Klitschko, Yatseniuk, and Tyahnybok) issued a joint statement condemning the assault, categorizing it as attempted murder. On 12 January, the protests numbered 10,000–50,000 people were held on

. On 15 January, courts banned protests and public assembly in Kyiv once again. This led the opposition to believe that the following night ("and the next ones") Maidan Nezalezhnosti would be cleared by Berkut special police units.

16 January 2014 anti-protest laws

On 16 January the MPs from

and

(and a number of independent MPs) in the

Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraine's capi ...

passed anti-protest laws (the texts of some of them became available after MPs had voted for them) which criminalized all of the Euromaidan opposition's methods employed during protests. The laws introduced 10-year jail terms for blockading government buildings; hefty fines and prison terms for protesters who wear face masks and helmets; fines and prison terms for unauthorized installation of and provision of facilities or equipment for tents, stages or amplifiers in public places; and driving bans for people who form convoys of more than five cars. Also approved was legislation to easier strip members of parliament of immunity; the identification of members of

non-government organisations A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

funded by foreign governments or foundations as "

foreign agent A foreign agent is any person or entity actively carrying out the interests of a foreign principal while located in another host country, generally outside the Diplomatic immunity, protections offered to those working in their official capacity fo ...

s"; 2-year jail terms for defamation spread through

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

; 1-year jail terms of corrective labour for slandering government officials; mandatory registration for internet-based media and

prepaid mobile phone A prepaid mobile device, also known as a pay-as-you-go (PAYG), pay-as-you-talk, pay and go, go-phone, or prepay, is a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone for which credit is purchased in advance of service use. The purchased credit is us ...

services purchasers. According to the ''

'', the 11 new laws were approved while opposition lawmakers were occupying the main session hall and voted in by MPs by means of show of hands that "were too rapid to actually be counted, and in some cases done in five seconds. The opposition dubbed the day in parliament 'Black Thursday' and stated that, "Today Ukrainian parliamentarianism is dead", and that the laws have ensured "dictatorship where there is no right to assemble, to reason, to live, where there is no law, no civil rights, and no legal process". The Party of Regions faction noted that the opposition had prevented normal voting since members of opposition factions had taken away voting cards from their colleagues in parliament. Party of the Regions MP Oleh Tsariov stated the laws were aimed to prevent further escalation of the ongoing political crisis. The

called on President Yanukovych to veto the legislation "which might be arbitrarily interpreted and lead to disproportionate restrictions on

media freedom Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is int ...

, stifling debate and critical views". In reaction on 16 January votes EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy

stated he was "deeply disappointed to see such a turn from the European path of Ukraine" and he believed the laws were aimed at limiting partnership with the

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European U ...

criticism (among others) was "The changes that seem to seriously curtail the activities of civil society organizations in Ukraine and simplify procedures for revocation of mandates of members of parliament are equally worrying". And she added "I call on the President of Ukraine to ensure that these decisions are revised and brought in line with Ukraine's international commitments".

Frank-Walter Steinmeier Frank-Walter Steinmeier (; born 5 January 1956) is a German politician who has served as President of Germany since 2017. He was previously Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), federal minister for foreign affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again f ...

reaction on the laws was "The limitation of civil rights will lead Ukraine only further away from Europe". The

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

expressed deep concern: "Both the process and the substance of the Rada's actions today cast serious doubt on Ukraine's commitment to democratic norms". In response to foreign criticism Ukrainian Foreign Minister

urged foreign diplomats "to avoid making unilateral statements and remarks that do not reflect the real state of affairs". He also noted that the laws adopted by the Ukrainian parliament on 16 January already exist in the laws of most European countries and meet generally accepted democratic standards and international practices. The following day, president Yanukovych signed the bills into law and dismissed

Hennadiy Vorobiev Hennadiy () is a Ukrainian given name. Like the Russian variant Gennady it is derived from Gennadius. Notable people with the name include: * Hennadiy Altman (born 1979), Ukrainian football goalkeeper * Hennadiy Avdyeyenko (born 1963), Ukrainian hi ...

as commander of the

Ukrainian Ground Forces The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

. Presidential chief of staff

Serhiy Lyovochkin Serhiy Volodymyrovych Lyovochkin (; born 17 July 1972) is a Ukrainian politician, formerly a member of the Parliament of Ukraine. Over 20 years, he has held various leading posts in civil service as well as top corporate positions. Early life I ...

resigned from his post in protest of the laws, as well as presidential spokeswoman

Daria Chepak ''Daria'' is an American adult animated sitcom television series created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn. The series ran from March 3, 1997, to January 21, 2002, on MTV. It centers on the titular character, Daria Morgendorffer, an intelli ...

. In accordance with enforcing the new anti-social laws, Interior Minister Zakharchenko pledged that "each offence will be met by our side harshly."

19–27 January 2014

On 19 January, Sunday mass protest, the ninth in a row, took place gathering up to 200,000 in central Kyiv to protest the new anti-protest laws, dubbed the " Dictatorship laws". The rally was attended by opposition leaders, but was also the first public appearance of

since her alleged attack by the authorities. Many protesters defied the face concealment ban by donning party masks, while others wore hard hats and gas masks. AutoMaidan leader

Dmytro Bulatov Dmytro Serhiyovych Bulatov (; born August 13, 1978) is a Ukrainian civic activist who was the Minister of Youth and Sports during the first Yatsenyuk Government in 2014. Bulatov was the leader of the AutoMaidan, which was the mobile car-bas ...

demanded a single oppositional candidate be named, and the crowd also chanted against leaders to comply with this action. Batkivshchyna leaders

and

Oleksandr Turchynov Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov (, ; born 31 March 1964) is a Ukrainians, Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, Baptists in Ukraine, Baptist minister and economist. He is the former Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukra ...

declared that a new, alternative parliament would be created. Euromaidan activists, including former

Ukrainian Navy The Ukrainian Navy (), is the Navy, maritime force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, service branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The naval forces consist of five components: surface forces, submarine forces, Ukrainian Naval ...

chief,

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Ihor Tenyukh Ihor Yosypovych Tenyukh (; born 23 May 1958) is a former Ukrainian admiral and Svoboda party member. He was the commander of the Ukrainian Navy from 2006 until 2010 when dismissed by Viktor Yanukovych. Tenyukh fully supported the 2013–2014 u ...

, appealed to the military for its "solemn allegiance to the Ukrainian people" rather than the "criminal regime", and for members of the military and police to not carry out criminal orders, namely in the use of force against civilians; they assured those who would be fired for refusing orders of violence would be reinstated once a new government for Ukraine is installed. Clashes erupted as thousands descended upon parliament via Hrusehvskoho Street, and were met by police cordons, and a blockade of military cars, mini-vans and buses. The protests escalated into riots and clashes with police erupted. The riots on Hrushevskoho Street have been ongoing from 19–21 January and have involved both Euromaidan activists and opposition leadership. Between 21–22 January, 3 were killed during the Hrushevskoho Street riots. On 21 January, the first death occurred after a 22-year-old man fell from atop the 13-metre high

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

in front of Dynamo Stadium while confronted by Berkut police, and suffered fractures to his spine's

cervical vertebrae In tetrapods, cervical vertebrae (: vertebra) are the vertebrae of the neck, immediately below the skull. Truncal vertebrae (divided into thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in mammals) lie caudal (toward the tail) of cervical vertebrae. In saurop ...

. Reports of the incident debate on whether the man jumped from the building to flee the beating, fell, or if he was pushed by police. The second death occurred at 6a.m. on 22 January, where police shot and killed a protester climbing the barricades in the conflict zone. It was reported he received 4 gunshot wounds, including to the head, and died immediately on the scene before being taken to hospital. The third, a Belarusian man, was also shot dead by police. Clashes spread to Lutheran Street near the Presidential Administration, with protesters lobbing molotov cocktails. Danger arose when it appeared that activists who sought treatment at hospitals were 'disappearing'. Prominent Euromaidan activists Ihor Lutsenko and Yuriy Verbytsky were abducted by five unknown men on 21 January at 4a.m. from Oleksandrivska Hospital in Kyiv. Lutsenko was found beaten in the woods the next day, but Verbytsky was murdered; his body found on 22 January. In response to the escalating violence, police were permitted by the government to increase measures in stopping the riots and protests. Police were now able to block roads to restrict access to the city, and allowed the use of water cannons against rioters regardless of air temperature, which was −10 C at the time of the announcement. Despite this, some 50,000 came to Euromaidan to show support. Tanks were reported to be traveling via rail from

to Kyiv, but government sources claimed they were headed instead to

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

. Police also illegally published the names and addresses of all known AutoMaidan activists. On 22 January the president presented a number of medals to various figures in the police forces and military for their service in the conflict. Controversially, President Yanukovych attempted to present Ukrainian Orthodox Church Patriarch Filaret with an award, which was refused. Opposition leaders presented the president with a 24-hour window to give in to demands. Vitali Klitschko warned the government that protesters would "go on the attack" if their demands were not met by the next day, while Yatseniuk stated, "Tomorrow we go forward together. If a bullet in the forehead, then bullet in the forehead." Following this sentiment, the UNA-UNSO called on all gun-owning Ukrainians to arm themselves to defend the Maidan. On 22 January suddenly at least three tanks were deployed from

. Officially the tanks were being transferred to the

Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast (), also referred to as Odeshchyna (Одещина), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administrative centre is the city of Ode ...

and not be going to

. On 23 January it was announced that due to the complicated situation in the country all tanks were returned to their place of permanent base. Two dozen men in masks armed with batons stormed the TV Kyiv station at 7:00 p.m. Later, several thousand protestors from the anti-Euromaidan group "Kyivans for a Clean City" surrounded the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. Crowd leader Ivan Protsenko blamed American financing and interference for the events in Kyiv, and picketers then egged the embassy. Later, a number of these embassy picketers engaged in an altercation with promoters after they were not paid for their time and participation in the picket. In the early morning of 23 January, police raided and destroyed a

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

Euromaidan medical center. Carrying on from the previous night, it was reported by activist groups that television blackouts were taking place across the country to channels which carried Euromaidan coverage, and internet and social media blocks were also under way. Riot police from

Vinnytsia Vinnytsia ( ; , ) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It serves as the administrative centre, administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast. It is the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. It also s ...

refused their orders to be deployed to Kyiv after reports from activists indicated that police and military were being mobilized nationwide. AutoMaidan activists were attacked and beaten in Mariinskyi Park, and detained by police; 9–10 vehicles had their windows smashed or tires blown.

Ruslana Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko (, ; born 24 May 1973),Руслана – Биография< ...

called the attack "a carefully planned ambush." At interview to

(

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

), the

Prime Minister of Ukraine The prime minister of Ukraine (, , ) is the head of government of Ukraine. The prime minister presides over the government of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the government of Ukrain ...

assured that Berkut was not able to use fire arms. Police also brought a

water cannon A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining. ...

, while outside temperatures were below freezing. Euromaidan Kiev 2014-01-23 10-55

Euromaidan activists documented police brutality on multiple occasions from Berkut and servicemen of the

Internal Troops of Ukraine The Internal Troops of Ukraine (; ), abbreviated VV (), were a uniformed gendarmerie and Internal Troops in Ukraine. They were subordinate to the Chief Directorate of Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine), Ministry of Internal Affairs (the count ...

, wherein officers assaulted activists and even random people and would

humiliate Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It is an emotion felt by a person whose social status, either by force or willingly, has just decr ...

them using excessive foul language, and force them to undress naked. In a video leaked to YouTube, Interior Ministry troops tortured and humiliated a Euromaidan activist in Kyiv's Pechersk region; where he was stripped naked in the cold after being beaten, and photographed by officers. The video was in close proximity, leaked by an officer in an apparent sign of self-evident barbarism and hatred within police ranks. BBC News interviewed another protester who was photographing the Hrushevskoho Street riots, and then beaten and stabbed by police. On 23 January reports surfaced that riot police were engaging in the use of improvised grenades, taping nails and other shrapnel to conventional

stun grenades A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade, flashbang, thunderflash, or sound bomb, is a non-lethal explosive device used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. Upon detonation, a stun grenade produces a blinding flash of light and an ...

. On 23 January 2014 Berkut grabbed a 22-year-old volunteer of Euromaidan medical service (native of

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

), confiscated all her identification documents, took her out of the city and left her out in a woodline near

. On 23 January it was reported that, according to the wife of an active Berkut officer, troops were being ordered to evacuate their families from the city.

FC Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet ...

updated their Facebook page with a red-and-black

tryzub The coat of arms of Ukraine is a blue shield with a golden trident. It is colloquially known as the ''tryzub'' (, , ). The small coat of arms was officially adopted on 19 February 1992, while constitutional provisions exist for establishing ...

as a sign of support for the revolution.

FC Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

fans then also threw their support behind the Euromaidan movement. On 23 January 2014 soldiers of the

(VV) were awarded with medals bearing the title "National honor to military law enforcement servicemen", a medal that is in fact not in the official list of state awards. Awards were given out to military units of the Eastern Territorial Command (STK) #3057 (

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

) and #3037 (

). On 24 January President Yanukovych stated (at a meeting with religious leaders) that the dubbed "Dictatorship laws" would be amended, saying that "we will prepare and compromise solutions together with the opposition. We will vote for amending these laws and so will settle all issues". At the same meeting he also stated that "we will continue a dialogue with the opposition leaders" and "I will be doing all I can to stop this conflict and stop violence. If we can do this on a good note, let's leave it on a good note, and if we can't, we'll use all legitimate methods". Also on 24 January Interior Minister

guaranteed "that the police will not take forceful action to clear Maidan Nezalezhnosti". On 25 January 2014 at 00:40 (

EET "Eet" is a song from Regina Spektor's fifth studio album, '' Far''. It was released as the album's second official single in October 2009. In Europe it was released as a digital download on November 27, 2009. Music video A viral music video dir ...

) the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVS) accused the security of Euromaidan in assault on three police officers. In its press-release, the MVS claims that the so-called Maidan security attacked three officers who were on duty. One of them was immediately struck with a knife. The detained servicemen were held in the city hall. Now the wounded one has been freed and hospitalized, while the fate of the other two is unknown. MVS claimed that a policeman who was walking home in civilian clothing was killed by a shot in his head. The same day Interior Minister

claimed "According to information received by law enforces, firearms being piled up at House of Trade Unions and

" and "The opposition leaders don't want to disassociate themselves from radical forces, but are no longer capable of controlling them, exposing Ukrainians to danger". The opposition denied that its activists had captured policemen and called the Interior Ministry's statement provocative.Policeman shot dead in Kyiv, another policeman sustains knife wound – Ukrainian interior ministry
,

(25 January 2014) It also denied piling up firearms and did accuse the authorities of setting up "a criminal group purposefully formed by the authorities to conduct destructive actions on the Maidan". Later on 25 January Zakharchenko stated that protesters had freed 2 captive policemen, "Captive policemen have been tortured and now are hospitalized". Vitaliy Zakharchenko stated that the highest degree of extremism could be found in

. A third meeting since the start of the Hrushevskoho Street riots between President Yanukovych and the three main opposition leaders Yatseniuk, Klitschko and Tiahnybok took place on 25 January as requested by the All-Ukraine Council of Churches and Religious Organizations. During the meeting President Yanukovych offered the position of Prime Minister of Ukraine to

and the position of

Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine is a government post of the Cabinet of Ukraine. In the absence of the prime minister of Ukraine, the first vice prime minister performs his or her duties as the acting prime minister. In 1991, the post was ...

in charge of humanitarian affairs to

Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...

(25 January 2014)Yanukovych offers Ukraine opposition leader post of PM
,

News5 TV5 News and Current Affairs, also known on-air as News5 (formerly ABC News and Public Affairs and TV5 News and Public Affairs and later TV5 News and Information), is the news and current affairs (news format), current affairs division of the ...

(25 January 2014) The government also offered an amnesty for protesters who agree to release administration buildings they have seized. During the meeting President Yanukovych also promised to consider changes to the

Ukrainian constitution The Constitution of Ukraine (, ) is the fundamental law of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the ''Verkhovna Rada'', the parliament of Ukraine, on 28 June 1996. The constitution was passed with 315 ayes o ...

(which currently gives the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

extensive powers) either through a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

or through

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

by the forming of a working group containing all parties in Ukraine's parliament to discuss returning to the constitution as it was between 2004 and 2010, under which parliament had significantly more powers than currently. According to Justice Minister

Olena Lukash Olena Leonidovna Lukash (; born 12 November 1976) is a Ukrainian former jurist, politician, former Ministry of Justice (Ukraine), Minister of Justice of Ukraine, as well as a former member of the Party of Regions. She was a Merited Jurist of Uk ...

President Yanukovych would dismiss the second Azarov Government if Yatsenyuk accepted the Prime Minister post. Nevertheless, Yatsenyuk told a large crowd on Maidan Nezalezhnosti that while the opposition is generally ready to accept leadership of the government, President Yanukovych still had to meet several key demands of the opposition (including early

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...

) and that talks will continue. At a later news conference, Yatsenyuk said "we are not throwing out the proposal, but we are not accepting it, either. We are conducting serious consultations among three opposition forces". About an hour after the opposition leaders spoke the Hrushevskoho Street riots continued.Ukraine opposition leaders press for changes, ignore Yanokovych job offers

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

(25 January 2014) Spilna Sprava, a militant splinter of Euromaidan, occupied and later evacuated the Ministry of Justice after Justice Minister Olena Lukash threatened to push for imposing a state of emergency. On 27 January, the Ministry of Defense announced sharp pay raises for military personnel, and the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a secret resolution to increase the size of the Berkut & Gryffon force sixfold to 30,000; they would also be given more power and a reserve fund would be set aside for additional ammunition. The Ministry of Justice then ordered the legalization of vigilante "civic patrols", which would apply to

titushky The Titushky (plural; ; ; ; ) were mercenary agents in Ukraine who supported the Ukrainian security services during the administration of Viktor Yanukovych, often posing as street hooligans in sports clothing with the purpose of serving as provoca ...

. The government was reportedly planning to close off 30 streets in Kyiv, with the Cabinet preparing to introduce martial law.

28 January–5 February 2014

On 28 January, Prime Minister

tendered his resignation to a special emergency session of the Verhovna Rada called by President

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...

. The President subsequently accepted the resignation and signed a decree dismissing the Cabinet, which decree would not take effect until the Verhovna Rada approved a new Cabinet. Hence the Second Azarov Government continued as a caretaker government. Azarov was replaced by Deputy Prime Minister

.Ukrainian parliament delays vote on amnesty law until Wednesday
,

(28 January 2014) Hours after resigning, Azarov fled the country to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

with no intent on returning in the near future.

Oleh Tyahnybok Oleh Yaroslavovych Tyahnybok (, born 7 November 1968) is a Ukrainian politician and far-right activist who is the leader of the Svoboda political party.Svoboda Svoboda () means "freedom" in various Slavic languages. It may refer to: People * Svoboda (surname) Organizations Media * Radio Svoboda, operated by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty * ''Svoboda'' (newspaper), a daily Ukrainian language newspa ...

, stated that Mr. Azarov had resigned in the face of a looming no-confidence vote that he was bound to lose. In addition, the

joined with opposition deputies to repeal 9 of the 12 anti-protest laws passed on 16 January. Opposition deputies compromised by approving more limited versions of some of the repealed restrictions. For example, a provision for criminalizing the destruction of monuments was reinstated, but was limited only to monuments of fighters against fascism, such as those commemorated in World War II statues. Destruction of statues of Lenin would no longer be a criminal offence. On 29 January, despite pledging to honor agreements with Ukraine, Russia restarted tight border controls and other restrictions at the border for Ukrainian goods. Russian customs increased duties of 5 to 40 percent on goods. On 29 January some 23 cars with western Ukrainian license plates were set on fire in Kyiv, and on the 31st, the car of an employee of the Canadian embassy in Ukraine. Taking credit for these acts was a newly formed terrorist group called ''Red Sector'' (a play on the name of the right-wing group ''Right Sector''). In a written statement of admission, Red Sector said: "Yes, today we burned many cars of the idiots who came to Kyiv, shat on it and think they are masters. There will be no revolution! We apologize if we damaged the property of normal people. But you have to understand that had it not been for our active deeds, fascists tomorrow will set a tent in your flat because they don't like you. And they don't give a shit about the law." President Yanukovych went on sick leave on 30 January because of

respiratory illness Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, bron ...

and a high fever. According to

Rostislav Pavlenko Rastislav or Rostislav may refer to: People *Rostislav (given name), a Slavic male given name Royalty * Rastislav (died 9th-century), second ruler of Great Moravia 846–870 *Rostislav of Tmutarakan (1038–1066) *Rostislav Vsevolodovich (1070– ...

, a member of Klitschko's

party, this was only a tactical move by Yanukovych "It allows Yanukovych not to sign laws, not to meet the opposition, absent himself from decisions to solve the political crisis".[],

(30 January 2014) On 31 January President Yanukovych signed 28 January 2014 law that annulled the so-called anti-protest laws of 16 January 2014.Ukraine activist says he was abducted and tortured

(31 January 2014) Yanukovych announced the following day that he would travel to Moscow in a week to meet with Putin. Later on the 30th, AutoMaidan leader

was found alive after being missing for 8 days, his body dumped in

Boryspil Boryspil (, ) is a city and the administrative center of Boryspil Raion in Kyiv Oblast (region) in northern and central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Boryspil urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The population was estimate ...

to freeze; journalists who did communicate with him showed pictures showing his face scarred and badly beaten, and clothed in blood-soiled attire. His ear was cut off and he had piercings in his hands by nails; which showed signs that he was crucified while being tortured. According to Bulatov, the men who abducted him spoke with Russian accents. Opposition leader

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiiovych Poroshenko (born 26 September 1965) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician and Oligarchy, oligarch who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine), Minister ...

suggested that the abductors of Bulatov could be the same that abducted Ihor Lutsenko and killed Yuriy Verbytsky, as Bulatov was found in the same woods as the other two, and asked the same line of questions. Opposition leader

stated "Recent events with Dmytro Bulatov are evidence of the facts there are now

death squads A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings, massacres, or enforced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in ...

in Ukraine, like in Latin America". Police suggested that his injuries and story could be staged by himself "to cause a negative public response." Police placed him and other AutoMaidan activists on the country's wanted list the next day for causing a "mass disturbance."'Tortured' Ukraine activist Dmytro Bulatov on wanted list

(31 January 2014) On 31 January, police attempted to arrest Bulatov from a Kyiv hospital but were stopped by protesters who protected him. "We will insist in Munich on starting an international investigation into all the facts of murders, abuse, torture, kidnapping of people and those incidents where journalists were targeted and shot at. Recent events with Dmytro Bulatov are evidence of the facts there are now death squads in Ukraine, like in Latin America," said Arsenyi Yatsenyuk, leader of the Fatherland Party. EU politician Carl Bidt blamed Ukrainian authorities for committing the crimes against Bulatov, and said act must not go unpunished. The spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, called for an investigation.

, the Ukrainian foreign minister stated "physically, this man is in good condition, and the only thing he has is a scratch on one of his cheeks." The BBC reported that a bus load of pro-government supporters were stopped outside of Kyiv by police who mistook them for Euromaidan activists, and assaulted them. Despite the passengers shouting "we're on the same side as you", police proceeded to beat the passengers. The coach was attacked because its number plates were from western Ukraine; the group was in fact from the Crimean city of Sevastopol in the south. On 31 January 2014 the minister of MVS

officially requested the use of

RPO-A Shmel The RPO-A Shmel () is a man-portable, single-use, rocket-assisted thermobaric weapon. While its name directly translates to flamethrower (and it is classified as such in Russian military documents), the RPO-A Shmel is more accurately described as ...

(90mm

rocket launcher A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile. History The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few i ...

s) to use against protesters to restore order. On 1 February 2014, the MVS commented that the use of flamethrowers by its forces was inaccurate.MVS assures use of rounds with gas grenade
''

''. 1 February 2014 Shmel and Shmel-M are rounds with gas grenades of tear-inducing action. On 31 January 2014 the SBU accused the opposition party

of preparing a coup-d'etat. On Sunday 2 February 2014 the protests held on

numbered about 50,000 people. On 3 February 2014 President Yanukovych resumed his duties after four days of illness.Russia warns Ukraine opposition as protests continue

(3 February 2014) According to

politician Yuriy Miroshnichenko he stated the same day that he would never declare a state of emergency or use troops or other force to clear Kyiv's main protest zone Maidan Nezalezhnosti "because these are also our citizens". Allegedly meanwhile (according to American and European officials, the

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

Ukrainian opposition seeks to cut president's powers

(4 February 2014) and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs

in an interview with

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

) a joint EU-US financial aid package was in the works to end the crises in Ukraine.U.S. and Europe Work on Financial Solution to Ukraine Crisis

(3 February 2014) On 3 February 2014 European Commission President

José Manuel Barroso José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He previously served from 2002 to 2004 as the List of Prime Ministers of Portugal, 114th prime minister of Portugal and from 2004–2014 as the 11 ...

(told reporters) "We are not going to a bidding competition to say who pays more for a signature of Ukraine".

UNIAN The Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News () is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian news agency. It produces and provides political, business and financial information, and a photo reporting service. As of October 2022, it was the most v ...

described the situation at Maidan Nezalezhnosti and

Hrushevskoho Street Mykhailo Hrushevskyi Street or simply Hrushevskyi Street () is a street in central Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The street is named after Ukrainian academician, politician, historian, and statesman Mykhailo Hrushevsky. Hrushevsky wrote his fir ...

on midday 3 February 2014 as "calm". And it reported 1,000 protestors on Maidan Nezalezhnosti and 50 on Hrushevskoho Street.Situation at Maidan Nezhalezhnosti and Hrushevskogo remains calm

Ukrainian Independent Information Agency The Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News () is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian news agency. It produces and provides political, business and financial information, and a photo reporting service. As of October 2022, it was the most visited n ...

(3 February 2014) On 4 February 2014 the opposition unsuccessfully tried to push through an unconditional amnesty for all detained protesters, and the returning to the constitution as it was between 2004 and 2010, in the

(Ukraine's parliament). According to the President's Representative to Verkhovna Rada Yuriy Miroshnychenko "the negotiating process is still ongoing, but we are seeing signs of a path that would enable us to exit this situation … we have started moving forward". The same day U.S. Vice President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

in a telephone call urged President Yanukovych to accept international support to resolve the political crisis and to remove riot police, release detainees, and prosecute those responsible for attacking journalists and protesters.EU's Ashton Meets Yanukovych As Parliament Debates

(5 February 2014) Catherine Ashton visited Ukraine on 4 and 5 February 2014 and met with the Ukrainian opposition and President Yanukovych. On 5 February 2014 the Verkhovna Rada did not pass any laws, but according to Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Rybak the following day work would involve "leaders of the factions and a working commission to prepare a law on constitutional reform". And opposition leader Yatsenyuk said in an interview with

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

: "Our long-term plan foresees the preparation of a new Constitution draft and its adoption by September. Our short-term prospective is to achieve the return to the Constitution of 2004 as a temporary decision until we adopt a new Constitution". He added that he was ready to become Prime Minister, but only in a government with opposition representatives and with the Constitution of 2004 back in force.Yatseniuk ready to head Cabinet of Ministers, but only it consists of opposition

(6 February 2014) On 6 February 2014

faction leader

Oleksandr Yefremov Oleksandr Yefremov or Aleksandr Efremov (, ) is a Ukrainian former parliamentarian and politician. A former governor of the Luhansk Oblast, from 2010 until 2014 he was Party of Regions's faction leader in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliamen ...

stated that his faction would participate in the drafting of amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine and added: "We see it this way: in September we should bring the country's main law into line with the provision that currently corresponds to our society".

6–17 February 2014

On 6 February 2014 an explosive device in a package labeled "Medicine" exploded in the Trade Unions Building near Maidan Nezalezhnosti injuring two activists from Lviv Oblast: 20-year-old Roman Dzvinivskiy with a severed hand, and 16-year-old Nazar Derzhilo, who lost an eye. The explosion took place on the fifth floor where the revolutionary headquarters of the

Right Sector Right Sector () is a loosely defined coalition of right-wing to far-right Ukrainian nationalist organizations. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several ultranationalist organizations at the Euroma ...

is located. Dzvinivskiy was wearing a jacket with a Right Sector badge. The victim described the man who gave him the explosives as speaking Ukrainian with a Russian accent and commended the victim for heroism before giving him the box containing explosives. In the

Ukrainian House The Ukrainian House International Convention Center (), is the largest international exhibition and convention center in Kyiv, Ukraine. The five-storey building is the host venue for a variety of events from exhibitions, trade fairs and confere ...

other more powerful explosives were found; an Automaidan driver removed it.

MP Olesya Orobets, citing 3 inside sources, said she believed that the whole operation was an attempt to set up the Right Sector as an extremist organization that was preparing explosive materials against the government in its headquarters. The next day interior minister

suggested that the explosion had occurred "...while a bomb was being made" because "...right-wing radicalized groups are preparing to disturb the peace and they will stop at nothing, even a terror attack. This is proven by the operative information that we have and the latest events at the House of Unions, where an explosion has been staged". Orobets argued that these were improvised explosives not made on site: "Judging from the injuries, it is not a homemade explosive. The force of the explosion shows that it was from a military arsenal." A diplomatic scandal appeared when a conversation between the

Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs The Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs is a position within the United States Department of State that leads the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs charged with implementing American foreign policy in Europe and Eu ...

at the

and

United States Ambassador to Ukraine The ambassador of the United States to Ukraine is the highest-ranking diplomatic position of the United States in Ukraine. The U.S. ambassadors are nominated by the President of the United States, president to serve as the country's diplomat, d ...

Geoffrey R. Pyatt that was apparently intercepted and uploaded to YouTube two days earlier became widely known. On 6 February 2014, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka stated that the new amnesty law applied to 259 people and some 70 people remained in custody. He stated that the amnesty law would apply only if protesters freed all the administrative buildings without exception, pulled apart the barricades and unblocked transport routes in all the regions of Ukraine before 17 February 2014.Prosecutor general: 259 people fall under new amnesty law, 70 of them still in custody

(6 February 2014) On 6 February 2014, a senior adviser to Russian President

Sergey Glazyev Sergey Yurievich Glazyev (; born January 1, 1961) is a Russian politician and economist, member of the National Financial Council of the Bank of Russia, and, since 2008, a full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Glazyev was minister o ...

, stated in an interview with (the Ukrainian edition of)

Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...

that the US was ignoring the 1994

Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances comprises four substantially identical political agreements signed at the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in Budapest, Hungary, on 5 December 1994, to provide security assu ...

because it was (according to him) spending $20 million a week on Ukrainian opposition groups including supplying "rebels" with arms. Among other things, "There is information that within the grounds of the American embassy, there is training for fighters, that they're arming them". Glazyev also suggested "In a situation when the authorities encounter a coup attempt, they simply have no choice ut to use force Otherwise the country will be plunged into chaos". According to Glazyev "According to this document (the memorandum), Russia and the US are guarantors of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and, frankly speaking, ussia isobliged to intervene when conflict situations of this kind arise".Ukraine crisis: Putin adviser accuses US of meddling

(6 February 2014) On 7 February 2014 Victoria Nuland told a press conference in Kyiv that the U.S. was ready to provide support to Ukraine "if it moves quickly in the direction of the protection of human rights, dignity, conflict de-escalation, and political reform. Otherwise the EU, the International Monetary Fund, and the U.S. will not provide financial assistance to Ukraine". On 9 February, opposition leaders announced the formation of self-defense units across the country. Vitali Klitschko said people can sign up for the self-defense teams through his UDAR party, while opposition leader Yuriy Lutsenko called on people to grab baseball bats and helmets to protect the protests. Lutsenko then spoke in Russian during an appeal to eastern Ukrainians to join in the protests. Political scientist Oleksiy Haran speculated on Yanukovych's meeting with Putin in Sochi was done to receive permission to forcefully disperse the protests. Later, Euromaidan self-defense units found a room containing computer servers and recordings of activists, which they also believed to be where explosives were made in the bombing of the Trade Union building. The building is owned by education minister

Dmytro Tabachnyk Dmytro Volodymyrovych Tabachnyk (, ; born November 26, 1963) is a Russian and former Ukrainian politician who served as the minister of education and science of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014.Right Sector Right Sector () is a loosely defined coalition of right-wing to far-right Ukrainian nationalist organizations. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several ultranationalist organizations at the Euroma ...

coalition, had gone missing; the SNA gave a warning that if he did not turn up, they would take action. On 15 February

Podrobnosti Podrobytsi (, literally ''"details"''), often referred to as podrobnosti.ua, is a Ukrainian news portal, one of the leading Internet news projects in the nation. As of early 2007 the site was visited by more than 30,000 viewers daily. It is affil ...

reported that members of anti-maidan group "Kyivans for a Clean City" attempted to dismantle barricades and fought with Svoboda organized self-defense units. Police reported that the "Clean City" activists were beaten by 10 self-defense guards, whose members were armed with batons, threw firecrackers and applied tear gas; According to activists on the scene, the Clean City activists who attacked the barricades were accused of being titushky and paid provocateurs, and were seen in photos wearing Russian St. George Ribbons. On 17 February the "Law on amnesty of Ukrainian protesters" (the exempt from criminal liabilities and punishment for Euromaidan protesters who committed crimes in the period 27 December 2013 through 2 February 2014) after the conditions (vacation of the seized administrative buildings, among them the regional state administrations, self-government bodies and the

, and the unblocking of Kyiv's

) were met by evening 16 February."Law on amnesty of Ukrainian protesters to take effect on Feb 17"

(17 February 2014) According to an

correspondent a few streets in Kyiv remained blocked. Also on 17 February Russian Finance Minister

Anton Siluanov Anton Germanovich Siluanov ( rus, Анто́н Ге́рманович Силуа́нов, p=ɐnˈton ˈɡʲɛrmənəvʲɪtɕ sʲɪlʊˈanəf; born 12 April 1963) is a Russian politician and economist. He has the federal state civilian service r ...

stated that Russia would release the next US$2 billion tranche of the 17 December 2013 $15 billion loan to Ukraine the same week.

18–23 February 2014

On 18 February 2014, 20,000

protesters in

advanced on Ukraine's parliament in support of rolling back the

Constitution of Ukraine The Constitution of Ukraine (, ) is the fundamental law of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the ''Verkhovna Rada'', the parliament of Ukraine, on 28 June 1996. The constitution was passed with 315 ayes o ...

to its pre-2004 form. Police and protesters fired guns, with both live and rubber ammunition, and police used tear gas and flash grenades in an attempt to repel thousands of demonstrators, who fought back with crude weapons and explosives. The most serious clashes took place at Mariinskyi Park, on

and on Institutska Street near Shovkovychna Street. At least 26 people were killed, including 10 policemen; at least 1,100 injured after police clashed with protesters during the day. Police later stormed the main protest camp on

. After President Yanukovych refused to accept a ceasefire and a return to peaceful demonstrations, opposition leader

said "we really are on the threshold of the most dramatic page in the history of our country." On 19 February 2014, police checkpoints, restrictions on public transportation and schools closure were ordered by the authorities in

, which according to ''

'' amounts to a ''de facto'' state of emergency. One member of parliament in interview acknowledged that state of emergency is de facto implemented nationwide as transportation to the capital is paralyzed. Russia has been officially warned about its intervention in the Ukrainian internal affairs. On 20 February Minister of Internal Affairs

announced he had signed a decree to authorize the usage of live ammunition against protesters. Same day to

unofficially arrived a Russian delegation of seven people including Vladislav Surkov, a curator of the "Ukrainian scenario" in Kremlin.Who was helping Yanukovych to extinguish Maidan. List of Kremlin envoys
. Ukrinform. 5 April 2014 The delegation was greeted by the head of SBU department of counterintelligence Volodymyr Bik. According to the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, one of the members Federal Security Service, FSB Colonel General Sergei Beseda arrived to Kyiv to make sure appropriate level of security of the Russian embassies which was considered unlikely as nobody from the Russian embassy arrived to meet their compatriots. According to Andrei Soldatov, the delegation visited Kyiv to ensure loyalty of Yanukovych. On 21 February an agreement was signed between Yanukovych and leaders of the parliamentary opposition, witnessed by representatives from European Union and Russia. which promised return to the 2004 constitution, early elections and withdrawal of security forces from the center of the capital. Also on that day, Yanukovych and Parliament declared 22 and 23 February to be new days of mourning "due to the loss of human life as a result of mass disturbances". On the evening of 21 February Yanukovych left Kyiv for

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

, then for

. On 22 February Yanukovych, prosecutor general Viktor Pshonka, Victor Pshonka and minister of revenues and duties Oleksandr Klymenko (politician), Aleksandr Klimenko attempted to fly to Moscow from Donetsk International Airport, Donetsk Airport on a private jet, but were stopped by Ukrainian border force. Yanukovych was ultimately extracted by Russian special forces at night of 24 February. On

, Klitschko announced that he and the opposition would be soon voting on the impeachment of Viktor Yanukovych in parliament; the bill of which was registered in the previous session. In Parliament, Speaker Volodymyr Rybak submitted his resignation, citing alleged illness. Yanukovych's whereabouts were unknown despite media reports he had flown to Kharkiv. Oleksandr Turchynov stated that in fact most of the ministers had disappeared as well as Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko (who is reported to have fled to Belarus) and President Viktor Yanukovych, "The only one legitimate body left is the Verkhovna Rada – so we are here to vote today. The major tasks for today are: to vote for the new speaker, prime minister and interior minister." Parliament voted Turchynov as new speaker and

was released from captivity, after which she traveled to Kyiv and addressed the thousands of protesters on the Euromaidan. On 23 February, Turchynov was also chosen as temporary president. At the Congress of the Southern and Eastern regions the deputies passed a resolution, declaring that they are ready to take responsibility for protecting constitutional order in their territory. They stated that the recent events in Kyiv led to paralysis of the central power and a destabilization in the country.

Aftermath

After the success of

and the Revolution of Dignity, Yanukovych fled the country as a fugitive for Russia. Immediately, 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, pro-Russian unrest erupted across Ukraine and the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, Russian military annexed Crimea, resulting in the outbreak of the

. In Kyiv, pro-Maidan protestors stated that the barricades at

would stand till at least 25 May 2014, the day of the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election. After

Vitali Klitschko Vitalii Volodymyrovych Klychko (; ; born 19 July 1971), known as Vitali Klitschko, is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer. He serves as mayor of Kyiv,Khreshchatyk Khreshchatyk (, ) is the main street of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. The street is long, and runs in a northeast-southwest direction from European Square (Kyiv), European Square through the Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Maidan to Bessarabska Sq ...

Street in exchange for the release of prisoners captured by the National Guard of Ukraine, National Guard in preceding days. Mayor

Vitali Klitschko Vitalii Volodymyrovych Klychko (; ; born 19 July 1971), known as Vitali Klitschko, is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer. He serves as mayor of Kyiv,Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

residents to come help to clean up Maidan on the morning of 9 August. That day, instead of clearing

as promised, almost the entire Maidan was cleared by citizens of Kyiv and hired plainclothes men. The dismantling continued until 10 August, when not a single residential tent remained. Despite

Vitali Klitschko Vitalii Volodymyrovych Klychko (; ; born 19 July 1971), known as Vitali Klitschko, is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer. He serves as mayor of Kyiv,Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

ans at noon on 10 August, though in the aftermath of the deaths that took place at Maidan during the Revolution of Dignity, the square is no longer used for many non-political events, such as Christmas fairs or New Year events.Barricades and tents burning on Kyiv's Maidan

(7 August 2014)

Notes

References

External links

Euromaidan OverviewBabylon13 Euromaidan DocumentariesDefense of the peaceful Euromaidan from the Berkut forces
* *
3D panorama of the Euromaidan protests in Lviv, 2 December 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Euromaidan timeline Euromaidan, * Contemporary history timelines Riot timelines Articles containing video clips

21–29 November 2013

30 November attack on protesters

1 December 2013 Euromaidan riots

2–7 December 2013

8–10 December 2013

12–16 December 2013

17 December 2013 Ukrainian–Russian action plan

18–31 December 2013

1–15 January 2014

16 January 2014 anti-protest laws

19–27 January 2014

28 January–5 February 2014

6–17 February 2014

18–23 February 2014

Aftermath

See also

Notes

References

External links