The Ukrainian Crisis

The Ukrainian government under President Viktor Yanukovych announced on November 21, 2013, that it had suspended preparation for a trade deal with the European Union. The decision purportedly came about as a result of intense pressure from the Russian Federation to reject the deal and establish a stronger bond with Russia. The suspension of talks with the EU proved unpopular with many Ukrainians, and by December 1, 2013, 300,000 protestors had gathered in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev despite a court order prohibiting protests. By late January 2014, after Yanukovich signed a controversial anti-protest bill on January 18, the protests turned violent and clashes with armed riot police led to several deaths and over 200 injuries to protestors in Kiev’s “Independence Square.” In an effort to quell the violence, Yanukovych offered concessions to the protestors: the president promised to change some of his cabinet members; he offered amnesty for some imprisoned protestors; and he proposed to reform the controversial anti-protest legislation.

One of Yanukovych’s promised concessions came through on January 28, 2014, when the Ukrainian Parliament repealed the anti-protest legislation. The Parliament carried through on another promised concession on January 30, 2014, when it passed a law that offered conditional amnesty to arrested protestors. Yet, on February 20, following the killing of 42 unarmed protestors in Kiev two days earlier, the Parliament voted the Ukrainian president out of office after he refused to resign. The ousted Yanukovych became the target of an arrest warrant issued by the Ukrainian government on February 24 for his role in the mass-killings of protestors, but Yanukovych escaped the reach of Ukrainian authorities and issued a statement on February 27 that he was still the Ukrainian president. The following day, reports from Crimea suggested that Russian troops had taken possession of regional airports.

The Invasion of Crimea and Its Secession from Ukraine

Though it remained in dispute whether it was actually Russian troops that took possession of Crimean airports and had surrounded Ukraninan military bases in the region. On March 1, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin received approval from Russian Parliament to invade Ukraine, tt became clear over the next several days where the Crimean parliament and Russia believed the region’s allegiances rested. On March 6, 2014, members of the Crimean parliament asked the Russian government to allow the region to become part of the Russian Federation. On March 11, 2014, Crimea’s parliament voted to secede from Ukraine and announced its intention to declare itself an independent state in the event of a “yes” vote in a scheduled referendum. Residents of Crimea began voting in that referendum on March 16, and the majority cast their vote to secede from Ukraine and seek annexation by Russia. Putin and representatives of Crimea signed a treaty that incorporated Crimea into the Russian Federation on March 18, 2014. On March 19, the Ukrainian government announced that it would withdraw its forces from Crimea. The EU and the US have responded to Russia’s actions in Crimea by imposing sanctions on members of the Russian government.