Between chaos and hope: one year of crisis in Ukraine
The revolution began peacefully in Maidan Square. This was followed by bloody confrontations and fighting, which claimed many deaths. The Ukraine crisis in pictures.
A peaceful beginning
After President Yanukovych's announcement not to sign the association agreement with the EU, November 21, 2013, saw pro-European integration demonstrations in Maidan Square. The excitement was so intense that protesters subsequently occupied the square. Joining them and speaking to them was Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Initially, protests remained peaceful.
Pressure on President Yanukovych
However, these protests were not sufficient in making the government change its course. On the November 29th summit, President Yanukovych made the association agreement with the EU fall through officially - to increasing protests in his country.
The situation escalates
Soon rioting ensued. The situation spiraled out of control in mid-February 2014. Shots were fired. Nearly 100 security forces and protesters lost their lives. The Ukrainian government and opposition leaders agreed to set up a transitional government; shortly afterwards the Ukrainian Parliament removed president Yanukovych from office. He left the country and was granted asylum in Russia.
The conflict shifts to Crimea
However, calm could not be restored as a new hotspot emerged: the Crimean peninsula. Armed forces took control of the regional parliament and government buildings, supposedly in order the defend the Russian population in Crimea. The pro-Russian Crimean parliament suggested to hold a referendum on the autonomy of the region and removed the government from power.
Putin expands his empire
In the controversial poll on March 16th, a clear majority voted for Crimean separation from Ukraine. Shortly afterwards Russia's president Vladimir Putin signed a treaty which incorporated Crimea into Russian state territory. In addition, on May 9 he ostentatiously celebrated the 69th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany on the Black Sea peninsula.
Unrest spreads into Eastern Ukraine
A short while later pro-Russian activists took control of regional administrations in eastern Ukraine cities Kharkiv and Donetsk, demanding a vote on separation from Kyiv. According to NATO, up to 40,000 Russian troops had been amassed in the border area - a threat posture. This was rejected by Moscow, which warned Kyiv not to use violence. Otherwise a civil war would be imminent, Russia implied.
"Anti-terror raids" in Ukraine
But the Ukrainian transitional government retaliated: On April 12, its troops launched an "anti-terror raid" on separatists in Sloviansk, which left people dead and wounded. The struggles continued over the following days. May 2 became the bloodiest day since the upheaval in Kyiv at the end of February. Nine people were killed in a renewed Ukrainian military offensive in Sloviansk.
Violence reaches southern Ukraine
On the same day, more than 40 people lost their lives in the south Ukrainian port town Odessa. They were killed in street fights and when a fire broke out in a labor union building. In addition, a group of OSCE military observers was temporarily detained by separatists. Following an intervention by a Russian envoy, the men were released after about one week of captivity.
Putin "respects" Ukraine election
Meanwhile, other regions announced their separation from Ukraine. Following a referendum on May 11 - which had failed to get international approval - separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions expressed their desire to belong to Russia. Elsewhere, on the World Economic Forum in St. Petersburg Vladimir Putin made a statement on the presidential election: He would respect the voters' decision.
Kyiv, too, draws criticism
Putin's approach to the Ukraine crisis draws harsh international criticism. However, the transitional government in Kyiv led by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk caused resentment as well: especially those regions which now lean towards Russia have little representation in the government. And separatists were not invited to join the round table meetings set up to resolve the crisis.
Ceasefire agreed, but not adhered to
At the beginning of September, the government and the insurgents in Ukraine had signed a ceasefire agreement - which was violated repeatedly. On November 20, 2014, the United Nations published a report, according to which 1,000 were killed in Ukraine since the inception of the truce.
No more struggle over gas supply
At the end of October, Ukraine and Russia terminated their struggle over gas supply, agreeing on a price of $385 for 1,000 square meters and gas deliveries now granted until March 2015. This "winter package" is to guarantee gas supply not only to Ukraine, but to Europe as well. How Ukraine, which is bordering on insolvency, is to pay for the energy deliveries remained an open question.
Dialogue with Putin
Germany continues to try not to lose diplomatic contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both Chancellor Merkel (on the G20 summit) and Foreign Minister Steinmeier (during his mid-November visit in Moscow) held talks on de-escalation in eastern Ukraine. For the time being, however, a political solution continues to be elusive.