Ukraine crisis of 2013–14

In 2014 Ukraine faced the greatest threat to its national security since the collapse of the Soviet Union, of which it had been part for most of the 20th century.

Months of popular protest swept pro-Russian Pres. Viktor Yanukovych from office in February, and he was replaced by a pro-Western interim government. As the interim government attempted to deal with a reeling economy, heavily armed pro-Russian separatists seized government buildings in Crimea and, with the support of Russian troops, declared independence from the central government in Kyiv.

Russia formally annexed Crimea in March 2014, a move that was broadly criticized in the West as a gross violation of international law, and separatist activities spread into eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian security services initially were unable to resist the attacks, which were often conducted by soldiers bearing Russian arms and equipment but wearing uniforms that lacked any clear insignia.

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Russia: The Ukraine crisis

With tens of thousands of Russian troops massed just across the border and the memory of the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia fresh in their minds, leaders in Kyiv were forced to weigh any possible military response against the likelihood of triggering overt Russian intervention.

As Ukrainian forces began systematically reclaiming contested territory ahead of the May 2014 presidential elections, the United States and the European Union (EU) expanded economic sanctions against an increasingly wide circle of Russian companies and individuals.

In this special feature, first published in August 2014, Britannica offers an overview of events in Ukraine during 2013–14 and explores the historical and geographic context of the crisis. These events proved to be an important prologue to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

From independence to the Maidan protests

Ukraine’s postindependence history can be largely characterized as a balancing act between the country’s European aspirations and its historic, ethnic, and economic ties to Russia. Leonid Kravchuk, a longtime Communist Party official who served as independent Ukraine’s first president from 1991 to 1994, adopted a pro-Western foreign policy and dictated the fledgling state’s terms in its often acrimonious “divorce” negotiations with Russia.

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Kravchuk’s bid for a second term failed when he was defeated in the 1994 presidential elections by Leonid Kuchma, who sought to improve relations with Russia and spur economic growth through increased privatization of state industries. Kuchma led the country for more than a decade, overseeing a period of economic stabilization as well as increased ties with Europe. However, allegations of corruption, along with the emergence of a vocal opposition under Viktor Yushchenko, Kuchma’s former prime minister and the architect of many of the country’s economic reforms, would ultimately lead to Kuchma’s political downfall.

Kuchma, with his popularity plummeting, did not stand for reelection in 2004. Instead, he endorsed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, a native of eastern Ukraine’s Donets Basin (Donbas) who drew much of his support from that region’s ethnic Russian population. During the campaign, Yushchenko became seriously ill when he was poisoned with dioxin—an apparent assassination attempt that left his face disfigured.

Yushchenko and Yanukovych were the top finishers in the first round of balloting and proceeded to a second round. Yanukovych was declared the winner in the runoff election, but international observers noted widespread irregularities, and Yushchenko supporters launched a mass protest movement that came to be known as the Orange Revolution. Meanwhile, Yanukovych supporters vowed to secede if the election results were overturned. The Ukrainian Supreme Court responded by ordering that the second round be rerun, and Yushchenko emerged victorious.

Yushchenko’s presidency was rife with turmoil, however. Fuel shortages, dissent within his party, and parliamentary struggles with Yanukovych undermined Yushchenko’s ability to enact reform, and he was soon eclipsed by fellow Orange Revolution leader Yuliya Tymoshenko.

Tymoshenko, who had served as prime minister in 2005 and from 2007 to 2010, challenged Yushchenko for the presidency in 2010. She advanced to the second round of balloting but lost to Yanukovych in an election that was deemed free and fair by observers. As president, Yanukovych immediately moved to strengthen ties with Russia, extending Russia’s lease on port facilities in the Crimean city of Sevastopol and signing legislation that indefinitely halted Ukraine’s progress toward NATO membership. He also took steps to neutralize his opponents with prosecutions that critics characterized as selective and politically motivated. In 2011 Tymoshenko was charged with abuse of power and sentenced to seven years in prison. The following year, her political ally, Yuri Lutsenko, was imprisoned on similar charges. In what was widely seen as a concession to Western pressure, Yanukovych released Lutsenko in April 2013, but that perceived pivot to the West would not last.

Mass protests erupted in November 2013 when Yanukovych announced that he would not proceed with long-anticipated association and trade agreements with the European Union (EU). After meeting with Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin on November 9, Yanukovych instead moved to further expand ties with Russia. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in response, and demonstrators established a protest camp in Kyiv’s Maidan (Independence Square). Opposition politicians voiced their support for the protesters and what came to be known as the Euromaidan movement, while Moscow backed the Yanukovych administration with promises of low-interest loans and reductions in the price of natural gas.

Over the following months a series of government crackdowns were unsuccessful in suppressing dissent, and in February 2014 Ukrainian security forces opened fire on the Maidan protesters, killing scores and wounding hundreds. With his political base disintegrating, Yanukovych released Tymoshenko, scheduled snap presidential elections to occur in May 2014, and ultimately fled the country ahead of an impeachment vote and a raft of criminal charges. Petro Poroshenko won a landslide victory, easily defeating Tymoshenko, his onetime Orange coalition ally, to become president.

Ukraine in 2013–14: facts and figures

This table shows the most recent data available to Britannica in August 2014.

Timelines of events

These timelines provide a brief summary of events in Ukrainian history that contextualize the Ukraine crisis of 2013–14 as well as a day-by-day account of the crisis itself.