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Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

There has been upheaval in Ukraine since President Viktor Yanukovych's government shelved plans to sign a pact with the European Union sparking confrontation between protesters and police that resulted in death and injury.

Lawmakers in Crimea called a March 16 referendum on whether to break away from Ukraine and join Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law legislation on the accession of Crimea after both houses of the parliament unanimously approved it.

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
Meaning of the Crimea crisis

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
A game with no winners

The UN General Assembly ( UNGA) on Thursday adopted a resolution, affirming its commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity and urging all parties to strive for peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis "through direct political dialogue."

The resolution, co-sponsored by countries such as Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, Lithuania and Ukraine, received 100 votes in favor, 11 votes against and 58 abstentions. The General Assembly resolution is not legally binding. Read more

* Click for full timeline                            * Follow the updates

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
No Cold War thinking

 

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
 

Crimea, home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet and historically part of the Russian Federation, was transferred in May 1954 to Ukraine, then a republic of the Soviet Union.

Lawmakers in Crimea called a March 16 referendum on whether to break away from Ukraine and join Russia.

On March 17, the Crimean parliament declared independence from Ukraine after 96.77 percent of Crimeans voted in favor of rejoining Russia in a referendum held on the previous. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed into law legislation on the accession of Crimea after both houses of the parliament unanimously approved it.

The UN General Assembly ( UNGA) adopted a resolution, affirming its commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity and urging all parties to strive for peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis "through direct political dialogue."

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) signs documents as Sergei Naryshkin (R), speaker of the State Duma, Russia's lower parliament house, and Valentina Matviyenko, head of the Federation Council, look on during a ceremony in Moscow's Kremlin March 21, 2014.

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
Putin signs treaty for Crimea to join Russia

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
Russian troops seize Crimea airbase

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed into law legislation on the accession of Crimea after both houses of the parliament unanimously approved it.

"I signed several decrees today, including the decree on the formation of one more federal district, the Crimean federal district," Putin said following theceremony on signing the decree on the accession.

"We have a lot of work ahead on Crimea's adaptation and on its joining Russia's legal system, the Russian economy and the social sphere," Putin added. [Read more]

 

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
Ukraine recalls troops in Crimea

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
Crimea holds referendum on future

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
Pro-Russian demonstrators hold rally

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
Crimea: Life before referendum

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
 
 
Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

US

United States redoubled efforts to put pressure on Russia for its takeover of Crimea.
The US and some of its closest allies cut Russia out indefinitely from a major coalition of leading industrial nations and canceled a summer summit that Russia was to host in its Olympic village of Sochi.

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis


*Obama sought to win backing from other foreign leaders in hopes of ostracizing or even shaming Putin into reversing his acquisition of Crimea and backing away from any designs he might have on other Eastern European territory. [More]

*Obama announced new sanctions against senior Russian officials and a bank in a move to "impose additional costs" on Russia.

*The US Senate voted to advance the Ukraine aid bill which would grant loan assistance to the crisis-stricken eastern European country and ratify reform measures for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

EU

The EU leaders decided to expand its sanctions against Russia by by adding 12 more person on the blacklist with travel ban and assets freeze and canceling the EU-Russia summit, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said Friday.

The decision of expanding sanctions against Russia was made by the EU 28 member states' leaders who gathered in Brussels for the bloc's spring summit, used to be focused on economic issues but eclipsed by the Ukraine crisis.

Russia 

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis


*Vladimir Putin fiercely defended Russia's move to annex Crimea, saying the rights of ethnic Russians have been abused by the new Ukrainian government. He said Crimea's vote to join Russia was in line with international law, reflecting its right to self-determination.

He denied Western accusations that Russia invaded Crimea before the referendum, saying Russian troops were sent there in line with a treaty with Ukraine that allows Russia to have up to 25,000 troops at its Black Sea Fleet base in Crimea.

Rally in Moscow celebrates Crimea's joining Russia

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
A participant in a rally in support of Crimea joining Russia, holds a Russian flag in Red Square in Moscow, March 18, 2014.

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
A man holds a banner with text "we are for peace" on rally dedicated to accession Crimea to Russia on the Red Square in Moscow, March 18, 2014.

China 

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis


* Xi Jinping noted that the spillover effects of the Ukraine crisis have been very obvious recently and are relevant to the interests and concerns of all parties involved.

The Chinese side has raised a three-point proposal, hoping all the parties involved will seek maximum common ground and avoid going to extremes again, Xi said, adding that the most urgent issue at present is to find a solution to the crisis.

China urges restraint in Ukraine
China makes proposals on Ukraine crisis

Xi tells Obama restraint needed in Ukraine crisis
China urges against confrontation on Ukraine crisis

UN

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
*The UN Security Council failed to adopt a draft resolution on Ukraine, which otherwise would declare the March 16 referendum on the status of the Russian-speaking Crimea "can have no validity," and urge nations and international organizations not to recognize it. [More]

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

US

The US government stepped up pressure on Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych amid the newly-erupted violence in Kiev, warning of sanctions. 

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

 

* US President Barack Obama said he condemned the violence in the strongest possible terms and warned of consequences if it continued.

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

 

* In a phone call, US Vice President Joe Biden urged Yanukovych "to take immediate and tangible steps to work with the opposition on a path forward that addresses the legitimate aspirations of the Ukrainian people," according to a statement issued by Biden's office.

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

 

* US Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington was ready to impose sanctions like asset freezes and visa bans on those blamed for the bloodshed.

* President Barack Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, was asked on US television about the possibility of Russia sending troops to Ukraine, which President Vladimir Putin had hoped Yanukovich would keep closely allied to Moscow.

"That would be a grave mistake," Rice said. "It's not in the interests of Ukraine or of Russia or of Europe or the United States to see a country split. It's in nobody's interest to see violence return and the situation escalate." 

New Yorkers gather to call for peace in Ukraine

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
Children hold up signs during a protest across the street from the Ukraine Consulate in the Manhattan borough of New York February 23, 2014.

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis
A man holds up a sign declaring Viktor Yankovych a mass murders during a protest in New York February 23, 2014.

EU

* European Council PresidentHerman Van Rompuy said the 28-nation EU, at an emergency meeting, would impose asset freezes and visa bans on those blamed for the bloodshed.

* The European Investment Bank, the EU's soft-loan arm, said it had frozen its activities in Ukraine due to the violence.

* Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis"What is happening in Ukraine is unspeakable, unacceptable, intolerable," French President Francois Hollande told a joint news conference.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said targeted sanctions against Ukraine's leaders would show the EU was serious in pressing for a political solution. She made clear they were talking to all sides in the crisis, including Russia. Merkel said she and Putin had spoken by phone and agreed to do everything to avoid an escalation of violence.

* EU Leaders urge end of violence in Ukraine

The prime ministers of the Visegrad Group, which includes Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, called for an end to the violence in Ukraine.

Leaders of the group said they were calling on Europe to assist both the Ukrainian government and the opposition in finding a common ground.

Russia

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

 

* In Russia, where Putin had wanted Ukraine as a key part in a union of ex-Soviet states, the finance minister said the next tranche of a $15-billion loan package agreed in December would not be paid, at least before a new government is formed.

Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisis

 

* Russian President Vladimir Putin and Yanukovich spoke by telephone during the bloodiest night of Feb 19 and both denounced the events as an coup attempt, a Kremlin spokesman said.

* Unrest in Ukraine and Crimea crisisRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told US Secretary of State John Kerry the opposition had "seized power" by force by ignoring an EU-brokered truce that would have left Yanukovich in office for the time being.

Sergei Lavrov blamed the West for encouraging opposition radicals "to act outside of the law".

 

China

* China urges Ukraine to resolve crisis

China urged the two opposing sides in Ukraine to exercise maximum restraint and seek a resolution within the legal framework.

China hopes that the international community will make positive efforts and play a constructive role in stabilizing the situation in Ukraine.

United Nations

* UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed shock at the "unacceptable" violence and called for "the immediate renewal of genuine dialogue leading to rapid results", UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said. "Preventing further instability and bloodshed is a paramount priority."

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