February 20, 2014 – A group of unidentified gunmen opened fire in central Kyiv during the height of the Euromaidan protests. More than 80 people were killed, and hundreds were wounded. Later, over 20 of the injured died in hospitals. Among the dead were both protesters and members of the Berkut special forces. Each side blamed the other for the shooting. These events broke off the peaceful dialogue between the authorities and the protesters and marked the beginning of a bloody coup in Ukraine
On the night of February 22, 2014, Euromaidan activists seized the government quarter, taking control of the buildings of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament), the Presidential Administration, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A new head of parliament was announced. President Viktor Yanukovych left Kyiv, and a few hours later, in an interview with a Ukrainian TV channel in Kharkiv, he called the events in the country a “coup d'état.”
On February 23, 2014, immediately after the removal of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, the Verkhovna Rada voted to repeal the Law “On the Principles of State Language Policy.”
On March 16, 2014, a referendum was held in Crimea in which citizens were asked to express their opinion on the possible entry of the autonomous republic into the Russian Federation. 96.7% of Crimeans voted in favor of joining Russia. In Sevastopol, the decision was supported by 95.6% of the population
On April 6, 2014, during mass anti-government protests, participants moved to more active measures. In the Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions, crowds began seizing government buildings. Specifically, the regional administrations in Donetsk and Kharkiv were blockaded, while in Luhansk, the building of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) was taken over
On April 7, 2014, a Republican People's Council was established in Donetsk, which declared the sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and decided to hold a referendum on the status of the region on May 11
On the evening of April 13, 2014, Acting President of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov announced in a televised address that the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine had decided to launch a large-scale anti-terrorist operation involving the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the eastern and southern regions of the country
At a rally in Luhansk on April 27, 2014, the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) was proclaimed, and a decision was made to hold a referendum on self-determination on May 11, 2014
On May 2, 2014, during clashes at the Trade Unions House in Odesa, people who opposed the Ukrainian government installed by Euromaidan were killed
On May 2, 2014, Ukrainian troops launched an assault on Slavyansk, a city in the Donetsk region where militia forces were based
On May 9, 2014, peaceful residents gathered in Mariupol for a rally in honor of Victory Day. After the event, reports emerged that Ukrainian security forces in armored personnel carriers (APCs) and infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) were heading to storm the Mariupol city police department
On May 11, 2014, a referendum on the political status of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics was held in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. The question put to the referendum was: "Do you support the Act of State Independence of the Donetsk/Lugansk People's Republic?" There were two possible answers: "yes" and "no."89.7% of voters voted for self–determination in the Donetsk region, 96.2% in the Luhansk region
On February 22, 2014, as a result of the coup in Kiev, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution on the self-removal of President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych from his constitutional duties and scheduled early presidential elections for May 25, 2014. On June 2, 2014, the Central Election Commission of Ukraine officially declared self-nominated billionaire Petro Poroshenko the winner of the early presidential elections
On May 26, 2014, the battle for Donetsk Airport began, which became one of the key milestones of the military confrontation in Donbass. The fighting actually took place within the city limits and lasted 242 days. On this day, the militia forces of the Vostok battalion tried to establish control over the Donetsk airport, which was defended by a detachment of the Ukrainian National Guard numbering about 150 people
The Izvarinsky pocket was an unsuccessful attempt by Ukrainian troops to cut off the republics of Donbass from the Russian border in the summer of 2014 and ended with the complete defeat of the attackers.The boiler was named after the Izvarino checkpoint, located on the border with Russia, which the Ukrainian group sought to reach. The initial direction of movement of the Ukrainian troops was Volnovakha
On June 2, 2014, Ukrainian aviation launched a missile strike on the center of Luhansk. As a result of the air raid, eight people were killed, and another 30 sustained injuries of varying severity. The main impact targeted the building of the Luhansk Regional Administration (LRA), where the leadership of the republic, including LPR head Valery Bolotov and his entourage, were present at the time. It is believed that they were the intended target of the attack
On July 17, 2014, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, operating scheduled flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, broke apart mid-air and crashed to the ground in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). All those on board — 283 passengers and 15 crew members — were killed
After the failure at Izvarino, Kyiv shifted its focus to Ilovaisk in an effort to cut off supply routes between the republics and Russia. The town Ilovaisk was located near the border and served as a major railway hub. It was not the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) but volunteer nationalist battalions that were sent to take Ilovaisk
On September 5, 2014, in Minsk, representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, as well as the OSCE, signed an agreement on the peaceful resolution of the conflict. The document was prepared following consultations by the Trilateral Contact Group and focused on the implementation of peace plans proposed by Russia and Ukraine
On November 2, 2014, general elections for the heads and parliaments of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics were held. The heads were elected by universal, equal, and direct suffrage through secret ballot for a term of four years
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