From: slider@anashram.com

### - below is wikipedia's account of how it all started, which in itself
is not very clear but from which it's still possible to glean the facts
behind it all via following the many links provided...

i.e.,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_crisis

The Ukrainian Crisis is the collective name for the 2013–14 Euromaidan protests associated with emergent social movement of integration of
Ukraine into the European Union, the subsequent February 2014 Revolution
of Dignity and the ensuing pro-Russian unrest.[1]

The crisis began on 21 November 2013, when then-president Viktor
Yanukovych suspended preparations for the implementation of an association agreement with the European Union. The decision sparked mass protests from proponents of the agreement. The protests, in turn, precipitated a
revolution that led to Yanukovych's ousting in February 2014. The ousting sparked unrest in the largely Russophone eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, from where Yanukovych had drawn most of his support.
Subsequently, an ensuing political crisis developed after Russia invaded
said regions and annexed the then-autonomous Ukrainian region of Crimea in March 2014. As Russia's invasion emboldened the Russophone Ukrainians
already in upheaval, the unrest in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts evolved
into a war against the post-revolutionary Ukrainian government. As that conflict progressed, the Russophone Ukrainian opposition turned into a pro-Russian insurgency, often supported and assisted by the Russian
military and its special forces.[2][3]

Euromaidan and revolution

Main articles: Euromaidan and Revolution of Dignity

Despite being an independent country since 1991, Ukraine has been
perceived by Russia as being part of its social and economic sphere of interest. Iulian Chifu and his co-authors claim that in regard to Ukraine, Russia pursues a modernized version of the Brezhnev Doctrine on "limited sovereignty", which dictates that the sovereignty of Ukraine cannot be
larger than that of the Warsaw Pact prior to the demise of the Soviet
sphere of influence.[4] This claim is based on statements of Russian
leaders that possible integration of Ukraine into NATO would jeopardize Russia's national security.[4]

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, both nations retained very close
ties. At the same time, there were several sticking points, most
importantly Ukraine's significant nuclear arsenal, which Ukraine agreed to abandon in the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances on the condition
that Russia (and the other signatories) would issue an assurance against threats or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine. In 1999, Russia was one of signatories of Charter
for European Security, where it "reaffirmed the inherent right of each and every participating State to be free to choose or change its security arrangements, including treaties of alliance, as they evolve";[5] both
would prove worthless in 2014.[6]

Ukraine became gripped by unrest when the Ukrainian government suspended preparations for signing the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement with the European Union on 21 November 2013, to maintain its economic
relations with Russia.[7] An organised political movement known as
'Euromaidan' demanded closer ties with the European Union, and the ousting
of Yanukovych.[8] This movement was ultimately successful, culminating in
the February 2014 revolution, which removed Yanukovych and his
government.[9]

On 24 November 2013, clashes between protesters and police began. After a
few days of demonstrations an increasing number of university students
joined the protests.[10] The Euromaidan has been characterised as an event
of major political symbolism for the European Union itself, particularly
as "the largest ever pro-European rally in history."[11]

During 24 January 2014, western Ukrainian cities such as Ivano-Frankivsk,
and Chernivtsi had protesters seize regional government buildings in
protest of president Viktor Yanukovych. In Ivano-Frankivsk, nearly 1,500 protesters occupied the regional government building and barricaded
themselves inside the building The city of Chernivtsi saw crowds of
protesters storm the governors office while police officers protected the building. Uzhgorod also had regional offices blockaded, and in the western
city of Lviv barricades were being erected just after previously seizing
the governor's office.[12]

The protests continued alongside heavy police presence,[13] regularly sub-freezing temperatures, and snow. Escalating violence from government
forces in the early morning of 30 November caused the level of protests to rise, with 400,000–800,000 protesters, according to Russia's opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, demonstrating in Kyiv on the weekends of 1
December and 8 December.[14] In the preceding weeks, protest attendance
had fluctuated from 50,000 to 200,000 during organised rallies.[15][16]
Violent riots took place 1 December and 19 January through 25 January in response to police brutality and government repression.[17] Starting 23 January, several Western Ukrainian Oblast (province) Governor buildings
and regional councils were occupied in a revolt by Euromaidan
activists.[18] In the Russophone cities of Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk, protesters also tried to take over their local government building, and were met with considerable force from both police and
government supporters.[18]

2014 pro-Russian unrest

Main article: 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine

President Yanukovych was forced to flee on 23 February 2014, and protests
by pro-Russian and anti-revolution terrorists began in the largely
Russophone region of Crimea.[19] These were followed by demonstrations in cities across eastern and southern Ukraine, including Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Odessa.

Elections in Ukraine after Euromaidan

Main articles: 2014 Ukrainian presidential election, 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2014 Donbas general elections, 2015 Ukrainian
local elections, 2019 Ukrainian presidential election, and 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election

Since 2014, multiple elections were held across Ukraine. The first
election held since the ousting of President Yanukovych was the 25 May presidential election, which resulted in the election of Petro Poroshenko
as president of Ukraine. In the Donbas region, only 20% of polling
stations were open due to threats of violence by pro-Russian separatist insurgents.[20] Of the 2,430 planned polling stations in the region, only
426 remained open for polling.[20]

As the war in Donbas continued, the first post-revolutionary parliamentary elections in Ukraine were held on 26 October 2014.[21] Once again,
separatists stymied voting in the areas that they controlled. They held
their own elections, internationally unrecognised and in violation of the
Minsk Protocol peace process, on 2 November 2014.[22]

On 25 October 2015, local elections took place in Ukraine.[23] In the
Donbas region the elections were held only throughout parts of the region, separatists stymied voting in the areas that they controlled. A second
round of voting for the election of mayors in cities with more than 90,000 residents where no candidate gained more than 50% of the votes were held
on 15 November 2015.[24][25]

Donbas general elections were held on 11 November 2018, by the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.[26]

The 2019 Ukrainian presidential election was held on 31 March and 21 April
in a two-round system. There were a total of 39 candidates for the
election on the ballot. The 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia and the occupation of parts of Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast prevented around
12% of eligible voters from participating in the election. As no candidate received an absolute majority of the vote, a second round was held between
the top two candidates, Volodymyr Zelensky, who played the role of
Ukraine's president in a popular television comedy and the incumbent
president, Petro Poroshenko, on 21 April 2019. According to the Central Election Commission, Zelensky won the second round with 73.22% of the votes.[27][28]

Snap elections to the Ukrainian parliament were held on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, these elections
were brought forward after newly inaugurated President Volodymyr Zelensky dissolved parliament on 21 May 2019, during his inauguration. The election result was the one-party majority, a novelty in Ukraine, for President Zelensky's Servant of the People party with 254 seats. Out of 225 constituencies, 26 were suspended due to the March 2014 annexation of
Crimea by Russia and the ongoing occupation of parts of Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast.

The 2020 Ukrainian local elections took place on Sunday 25 October 2020.
In the election deputies of oblast, raion and municipality councils were elected and elections for city and town mayors were held. No elections
were held in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.[29]

Effects of the crisis

Main articles: International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War,
Economy of Ukraine § After Euromaidan: 2014 to present, and Russian
financial crisis (2014–2017)
The crisis has had many effects, both domestic[citation needed] and international.[30] According to an October 2014 estimate by the World
Bank, the economy of Ukraine contracted by 8% during the year 2014 as a
result of the crisis.[31] Economic sanctions imposed on Russia by western nations contributed to the collapse in value of the Russian rouble, and
the resulting Russian financial crisis.[32]

The war in Donbas caused a coal shortage in Ukraine, as the Donbas region
had been the chief source of coal for power stations across the country. Furthermore, Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station was forced to close down
one of its reactors after an accident. The combination of these two
problems led to rolling blackouts across Ukraine during December 2014.[33]

Additionally, due to the Ukrainian crisis, a construction of a new
pipeline in Turkey with an annual capacity around 63 billion cubic metres
(bcm) was proposed, so as to carry natural gas to Europe while completely bypassing Ukraine as a traditional transit hub for Russian gas.[34]

Progress on implementing reforms in post-revolutionary Ukraine has been
said to be slow. According to a BBC report in February 2016, Ukraine
remained gripped by corruption, and little progress had been made in
improving the economy. Low-level fighting continued in the Donbas. The
report also said that there was talk of a "Third Maidan" to force the government to take action to remedy the crisis.[35]

An IMF four-year loan program worth about $17.5 billion was agreed in
eight tranches over 2015 and 2016, subject to conditions regarding
economic reforms.[36] Analysts disputed that the $17.5 billion represented
a 'new' bailout, noting that the IMF's announcement amounted to making
good on "old promises, rather than offering any new cash."[30] However,
due to lack of progress on reforms, only two tranches worth $6.7 billion
were paid in 2015. A third tranche of $1.7 billion may be paid in June
2016 subject to the bringing into law of 19 further reform
measures.[37][38] In May 2016, the IMF mission chief for Ukraine stated
that the reduction of corruption was a key test for continued
international support.[38]

Since about 2015, there has been a growing number of Ukrainians working in
the European Union, particularly Poland. Eurostat reported that 662,000 Ukrainians received EU residence permits in 2017, with 585,439 being to
Poland. The head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine
has estimated that up to 9 million Ukrainians work abroad for some part of
the year, and 3.2 million have regular full-time work abroad with most not planning to return. World Bank statistics show that money remittances back
to Ukraine have roughly doubled from 2015 to 2018, worth about 4% of GDP.[39][40]

***

iow: this is not simply nor merely the result of russian aggression and
their having some kind of expansionist policy, and is actually more to do
with nato's encroaching influence and continuing expansionist policy which russia deemed an existential threat and therefore unacceptable...

and it all basically began with the deliberate ousting of President
Yanukovych, which some suggest was deliberately engineered by the west
anyway and which then led directly to ukrainian aggression and ethnic
cleansing towards the russian speaking peoples of the southern regions who
were basically being bombed and left to starve and freeze, this prompting russia to then send tons of life-saving supplies to them as well as
military support to the rebels in order to keep ukrainian forces from just marching in there and killing them all off... and because no one else sent
them any aid did they?

everything else is just pure black propaganda singularly designed to rally
+ justify public/global opinion towards ukraine... something you just wont
be able to grasp unless you put aside your own personal hatred of
all-things russian in order to remain 100% objective about what 'actually' occurred there & why it occurred in the first place.

and because, anything 'less' than 100% objectivity in the matter is thus
like trying to reason with an ardent trump supporter who deliberately puts
his fingers in his ears and shouts la la la at anything he hears to the contrary hehe ;)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: www.darkrealms.ca (1:229/2)