Anti-government protesters Government of Ukraine Pro-government groups Parties Supported by: Arseniy YatsenyukVitali KlitschkoOleh TyahnybokPetro PoroshenkoYuriy LutsenkoOleksandr TurchynovAndriy ParubiyAndriy SadovyiRuslana[58][59]Tetiana ChornovolDmytro BulatovDmytro YaroshRefat Chubarov Viktor YanukovychMykola AzarovSerhiy ArbuzovVitaliy ZakharchenkoOleksandr YefremovAndriy KlyuyevHennadiy KernesMykhailo DobkinViktor PshonkaOlena LukashYuriy BoykoLeonid KozharaDmytro Tabachnyk Kyiv:400,000–800,000 protesters[60]12,000 "self-defense sotnia"[61][62] Law enforcement in Kyiv: 3,000–4,000 titushky[66] Pro-government/anti-EU demonstrations:20,000–60,000 (Kyiv)40,000 (Kharkiv)[67]15,000 (Donetsk)[68]10,000 (Simferopol)[69] Post-Minsk II conflict Attacks on civilians Related Euromaidan (/ˌjʊərəmaɪˈdɑːn, ˌjʊəroʊ-/ YOOR-oh-my-DAHN;[82][83] Ukrainian: Євромайдан, romanized: Yevromaidan, IPA: [ˌjɛu̯romɐjˈdɑn], lit.

The protests were sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's sudden decision not to sign the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement, instead choosing closer ties to Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union.

The protests were launched following the Ukrainian government's suspension of preparations for signing the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement in favour of closer economic relations with Russia and rejection of draft laws which would have allowed the release of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

[16] According to journalist Lecia Bushak, writing in the 18 February 2014 issue of Newsweek magazine, EuroMaidan [had] grown into something far bigger than just an angry response to the fallen-through EU deal.

It's now about ousting Yanukovych and his corrupt government; guiding Ukraine away from its 200-year-long, deeply intertwined and painful relationship with Russia; and standing up for basic human rights to protest, speak and think freely and to act peacefully without the threat of punishment.

[113]Late February marked a turning point when many members of the president's party fled or defected, causing it to lose its majority in the Verkhovna Rada, the country's national parliament.

[126][nb 7] In the months leading up to the protests, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych urged the parliament to adopt laws so that Ukraine would meet the EU's criteria.

Ukrainian Industrial Policy Minister Mykhailo Korolenko reported on 18 December 2013 that the new Russian trade restrictions had caused Ukraine's exports to drop by $1.4 billion (or a 10% year-on-year decrease through the first 10 months of the year).

[142][nb 8] The government also assured, "Ukraine will resume preparing the agreement when the drop in industrial production and our relations with Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries are compensated by the European market.

[151][152][153] Yanukovych later explained to his entourage the decision was the result of an exchange with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had allegedly threatened to occupy Crimea and a sizable part of southeastern Ukraine, including the Donbas, if he signed the EU agreement.

[154] In an interview with American journalist Lally Weymouth for The Washington Post, Ukrainian billionaire businessman and opposition leader Petro Poroshenko stated: From the beginning, I was one of the organizers of the Maidan.

[158] Ukrainian students nationwide also demanded the dismissal of Minister of Education Dmytro Tabachnyk after a draft law potentially increasing tuition fees was proposed.

[71][176] On 21 February, an agreement was signed by Yanukovych and leaders of the parliamentary opposition (Vitaly Klitschko, Arseny Yatsenyuk, Oleh Tyahnybok) under the mediation of EU and Russian representatives.

In addition, approximately 150 titushky appeared and encircled the Euromaidan protesters with megaphones and began a conflict, burning wreaths and Svoboda Party flags, shouting, "Down with fascists!

[261][262] Starting on 23 January, several Western Ukrainian oblast (province) government buildings and Regional State Administrations (RSAs) were occupied by Euromaidan activists.

Notably, in December 2013, Warsaw's Palace of Culture and Science,[263] Cira Centre in Philadelphia,[264] the Tbilisi City Assembly in Georgia,[265] and Niagara Falls on the US-Canada border were illuminated in blue and yellow as a symbol of solidarity with Ukraine.

[267][268] Several news outlets investigated the claims to confirm that by and large, attendees at pro-government rallies did so for financial compensation and not for political reasons, and were not an organic response to the Euromaidan.

[284] On 22 January 2014, Television News Service (TSN) reported that journalists started to remove their identifying uniform (vests and helmets), as they were being targeted, sometimes on purpose, sometimes accidentally.

[294] On 18 February 2014, American photojournalist Mark Estabrook was injured by Berkut forces, who threw two separate concussion grenades at him just inside the gate at the Hrushevskoho Street barricade, with shrapnel hitting him in the shoulder and lower leg.

He was informed upon his arrival in Maidan to stay away from the hospitals in Kyiv to avoid Yanukovych's Berkut police capture (February 2014)[295][296][297] According to December 2013 polls (by three different pollsters), between 45% and 50% of Ukrainians supported Euromaidan, while between 42% and 50% opposed it.

[302] Polls also showed that the nation was divided in age: while a majority of young people were pro-EU, older generations (50 and above) more often preferred the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia.

[321] The Financial Times said the 2013 protests were "largely spontaneous, sparked by social media, and have caught Ukraine's political opposition unprepared" compared to their well-organised predecessors.

[336] Commenting on the situation afterwards, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that Nuland had apologized to her EU counterparts[337] while White House spokesman Jay Carney alleged that because it had been "tweeted out by the Russian government, it says something about Russia's role".

On 21 February, at the public announcement leaders of parliamentary opposition of conditions of the signed Agreement, representatives of "Right Sector" declared that they do not accept the gradualness of political reforms stipulated in the document, and demanded immediate resignation of the president Yanukovych—otherwise they intended to go for storm of Presidential Administration and Verkhovna Rada.

[344] On the night of 22 February activists of Euromaidan seized the government quarter[345] left by law enforcement authorities and made a number of new demands—in particular, immediate resignation of the president Yanukovych.

[156] Moody's Investors Service reported on 4 December 2013 "As a consequence of the severity of the protests, demand for foreign currency is likely to rise" and noted that this was another blow to Ukraine's already poor solvency.

[359] On 18 December, the day after an economical agreement with Russia was signed, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov stated, "Nothing is threatening stability of the financial-economic situation in Ukraine now.

[364] Standard & Poor's analysts believed the compromise deal of the same day between President Yanukovych and the opposition made it "less likely Ukraine would receive desperately needed Russian aid, thereby increasing the risk of default on its debts".

[417] On request of parliamentary opposition, Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka read in Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) a report on investigation about dispersal of protesters on 30 November.

[419] Following the PG's report, the parliamentary opposition registered a statement on creation of provisional investigation committee in regards to actions of law enforcement agencies towards peaceful protests in Kyiv.