Key Events
| 21 November 2013 Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych orders the suspension of trade and association talks with the European Union, opting to revive economic ties with Russia. Protests begin in Kyiv’s Independence Square (Maidan). |
| 6 December 2013 President Yanukovych meets Russian President Putin for talks, to lay the ground for a new “strategic partnership” between the two countries. |
| December 2013 – February 2014 Anti-government protests continue, with some turning violent. |
| 21 February 2014 President Yanukovych and opposition leaders sign an EU-mediated peace pact that includes plans for presidential elections before the end of the year. |
| 22 February 2014 Ukraine’s parliament votes to impeach President Yanukovych and he flees the country. |
| 27 February 2014 Dozens of pro-Russia gunmen seize government buildings in the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and raise the Russian flag. The move comes a day after President Putin put Russia’s military on high alert. |
| 1 March 2014 Russia’s parliament approves President Putin’s request for Russian forces to be used in Ukraine |
| 21 March 2014 President Putin signs a law formalising Russia’s takeover of Crimea from Ukraine. |
Detailed Timeline
| 21 November 2013 Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych orders the suspension of trade and association talks with the European Union, opting to revive economic ties with Russia. Several hundred Ukrainians gather in Kyiv’s Independence Square (Maidan) to protest. |
| 22 November 2013 Jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko urges Ukrainians to protest against the government’s decision not a trade deal with the EU. |
| 24 November 2013 An estimated 100,000 people rally in Kyiv against the government. Meanwhile, a pro-government rally attracts 10,000 people. |
| 25 November 2013 Ukrainian police fire tear gas at demonstrators, saying they had been pelted with objects. Yulia Tymoshenko, in prison, begins a hunger strike in solidarity with the protestors. |
| 29 November 2013 At an EU summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, President Yanukovych refuses to sign the association agreement. |
| 30 November 2013 Thousands of Ukrainians stage fresh protests in Kyiv’s Independence Square. 2,000 riot police are deployed around the square, but only small scuffles are reported. |
| 1 December 2013 An estimated 300,000 people protest in Kyiv and besiege the president’s office. Dozens are injured as police respond with tear gas, batons and flash grenades. |
| 6 December 2013 President Yanukovych meets Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks in Sochi, to lay the ground for a new “strategic partnership” between the two countries. |
| 8 December 2013 Hundreds of thousands of people rally in Kyiv, in the largest protest yet. A statue of Lenin is toppled in the city centre. |
| 13 December 2013 President Yanukovych holds roundtable discussions with opposition leaders, but no breakthrough in the crisis is reached. |
| 15 December 2013 The EU freezes attempts to revive a political and trade pact with Ukraine. 200,000 people rally in Kyiv. |
| 17 December 2013 Presidents Putin and Yanukovych hold talks in Moscow. The Russian president agrees to buy $15 billion of Ukrainian debt to allow the former Soviet republic to return to economic growth. |
| 24 December 2013 Ukraine receives the first $3 billion tranche of Russia’s bailout. |
| 12 January 2014 Thousands of Ukrainians gather in Kyiv’s main square to demand closer relations with the EU, reviving the movement after a Christmas and New Year lull. |
| 17 January 2014 President Yanukovych signs into force a set of tough new laws that ban virtually all forms of anti-government protests, despite criticism from Western governments. |
| 19 January 2014 Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians gather in central Kyiv, defying the ban on protests. The protest later turns violent, with hundreds of activists storming a police cordon, attacking riot police with sticks and chains in an attempt to push their way towards the Ukrainian parliament. The police respond with stun grenades, leaving a dozen protesters injured. |
| 22 January 2014 Two protesters are killed in clashes with police; the first fatalities since anti-government protests began in November. A three-hour meeting between President Yanukovych and the three main political opposition leaders ends without a deal. |
| 26 January 2014 President Yanukovych offers key government posts to opposition leaders and suggests making a number of legislative and constitutional amendments during a special emergency session of parliament. The opposition reacts cautiously, rejecting these initial proposals but indicating they are open to further negotiations, including early elections. |
| 27 January 2014 Ukraine’s justice minister threatens to declare a state of emergency after four government buildings, including the city hall in central Kyiv, are taken by protesters. |
| 28 January 2014 Ukraine’s Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigns. The Ukrainian parliament votes to annul the anti-protest legislation. |
| 30 January 2014 President Yanukovych announces that he will take sick leave due to an acute respiratory illness and high fever. In a written statement, the UK’s Minister for Europe urges the government and opposition in Ukraine to find a compromise acceptable to all sides. |
| 31 January 2014 Still on sick leave, President Yanukovych signs into law a conditional amnesty for those detained in the unrest. |
| 2 February 2014 President Yanukovych returns to work after four days’ sick leave. An estimated 30,000 protesters gather in Kyiv, renewing calls for the president to step down |
| 7 February 2014 The United States suggests Russia is responsible for leaking a recording of US diplomats discussing how to shape a new government in Kyiv. Russia accuses the United States of trying to foment a coup in Ukraine. |
| 14 February 2014 Russia accuses the European Union of seeking to create a “sphere of influence” on its borders by pressing Ukraine to choose closer ties with the bloc at the expense of relations with Moscow. All 234 protesters arrested since December 2021 are released, although tensions remain. |
| 18 February 2014 At least 22 people are killed and more than 200 seriously injured as protesters clash with riot police in the worst violence since demonstrations began. |
| 19 February 2014 The West threatens sanctions after the death toll rises to 26. President Yanukovych denounces the bloodshed as an attempted coup. |
| 20 February 2014 Dozens are killed in fresh clashes in Kyiv, the city’s worst day of violence for 70 years. The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland meet with President Yanukovych, hoping to agree a roadmap with the Ukrainian government and opposition. |
| 21 February 2014 President Yanukovych and opposition leaders sign an EU-mediated peace pact that includes plans for presidential elections before the end of the year. |
| 22 February 2014 Ukraine’s parliament votes to impeach President Yanukovych, who flees his Kyiv office, denouncing what he says is a coup. Yulia Tymoshenko is released from custody and urges the opposition to continue their protests. |
| 23 February 2014 Russia recalls its ambassador to Ukraine over what it describes as the deteriorating situation in the country. Ukraine’s newly appointed interim president, Olexander Turchynov, says the country will focus on closer integration with the EU. |
| 24 February 2014 Ukraine issues an arrest warrant for President Yanukovych, on charges of “mass murder” of protesters. Russia declares the situation in Ukraine a “real threat” to its interests. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev accuses Ukraine’s interim leaders of taking power through “armed mutiny”. |
| 26 February 2014 Ukraine’s acting president announces his cabinet, which includes a number of key figures in the protest movement. Presidential elections are set for 25 May. Russia puts its military on high alert and President Putin orders major military exercises, as concerns grow about unrest in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. |
| 27 February 2014 Dozens of pro-Russia gunmen seize government buildings in Crimea and raise the Russian flag. Ukraine’s interim government summons Russia’s envoy and warns its neighbour against “military aggression”. Acting president Oleksandr Turchynov warns Russian forces not to venture out from their naval base in Crimea. |
| 28 February 2014 Armed men take control of two airports in Crimea as Russia is accused of orchestrating a “military invasion and occupation”. Ousted President Viktor Yanukovych resurfaces in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, denouncing the “bandit coup” in Kyiv, and reiterates that he remains the legitimate president of Ukraine. He calls on Russia to act decisively, saying he is “surprised” by President Putin’s restraint. |
| 1 March 2014 Russia’s parliament approves President Putin’s request for Russian forces to be used in Ukraine. The Kremlin says the request was submitted “in connection with the extraordinary situation in Ukraine and the threat to the lives of Russian citizens”. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague speaks to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to urge steps to calm the situation and summons the Russian Ambassador to register the UK Government’s deep concerns. |
| 3 March 2014 Western leaders issue a joint statement condemning Russia’s “clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine” and committing to supporting Ukraine in its efforts to restore unity, stability and political and economic health. |
| 4 March 2014 President Putin announces an end to military exercises in western Russia and orders the troops back to base. He rules out a Russian war with Ukraine, but reserves the right to use force “as a last resort”. |
| 5 March 2014 Russia rebuffs calls to withdraw troops from Crimea, saying “self-defence” forces are not under its command. |
| 6 March 2014 EU leaders hold an emergency summit to address the Ukraine crisis. Crimea’s pro-Russia regional government votes to join Russia and announces it will hold a referendum on 16 March to determine whether the region should officially join Russia. |
| 8 March 2014 Warning shots are fired as a team of international military observers is turned away from entering Crimea. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) reports no injuries. |
| 9 March 2014 The UK Prime Minister David Cameron calls President Putin to discuss the situation in Ukraine and urges him to de-escalate the situation. |
| 12 March 2014 US President Barack Obama welcomes Ukraine’s interim prime minister to the White House and pledges to “stand with Ukraine” in its dispute with Russia. G7 leaders issue a statement calling on Russia to cease all efforts to change the status of Crimea. |
| 16 March 2014 Crimea’s secession referendum on joining Russia is backed by over 95% of voters, officials say. |
| 17 March 2014 The EU and US impose travel bans and asset freezes on several officials from Russia and Ukraine over the Crimea referendum. The UK Government refuses to recognise the Crimea referendum or its outcome as being legal or legitimate, and “condemns in the strongest terms Russia’s flagrant disregard of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. |
| 18 March 2014 President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Crimea sign a bill to absorb the peninsula into Russia. |
| 21 March 2014 President Putin signs the law formalising Russia’s takeover of Crimea from Ukraine, despite fresh sanctions from the EU and the US. |
| 24 March 2014 Russia is expelled from the Group of Eight (G8). |
| 27 March 2014 The UN General Assembly votes 100–11 against recognising the Crimea referendum result, with 58 countries abstaining. Following the vote, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague says: “The result reinforces the fundamental principles upon which the UN was founded: principles of territorial integrity and of the non-use of force. President Putin should take notice of this clear and resounding message and work together with all parties to de-escalate the situation.” |
| 28 March 2014 US President Barack Obama urges Russia to “move back its troops” on Ukraine’s border and lower tensions. Russia is believed to have amassed a force of several thousand troops close to Ukraine’s eastern border. |
| 7 April 2014 Pro-Russian protesters seize regional government buildings in the Ukrainian cities of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv, calling for a referendum on independence by 11 May. |
| 15 April 2014 Ukraine’s acting president, Olexander Turchynov, announces the start of an “anti-terrorist operation” against pro-Russian separatists. It quickly stalls. |
| 17 April 2014 At talks in Geneva, Russia, Ukraine, the US and the EU say they have agreed steps to “de- escalate” the crisis in eastern Ukraine. Three people are killed when Ukrainian security forces fend off a raid on a base in Mariupol, the first violent deaths in the east. |
| 18 April 2014 UK Foreign Secretary William Hague welcomes yesterday’s agreement on the next steps in Ukraine and urges quick progress be made. He also announces a further £1 million to support the OSCE monitoring mission. |
| 22 April 2014 Ukraine’s acting president calls for the resumption of military operations against pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, claiming two of his party’s supporters had been “tortured to death”, in a further blow to an unravelling international peace plan. |