3. BACKGROUND
• UKRAINE • WAS BECOME INDEPENDENT 1991
• • IS A UNITARY STATE COMPOSED OF 24 OBLASTS (PROVINCES), ONE AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC (CRIMEA), AND TWO CITIES
WITH SPECIAL STATUS: KIEV, ITS CAPITAL AND LARGEST CITY, AND SEVASTOPOL, WHICH HOUSES THE RUSSIAN BLACK SEA
FLEET UNDER A LEASING AGREEMENT.
• • IS A REPUBLIC UNDER A SEMI-PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM WITH SEPARATE LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE, AND JUDICIAL
BRANCHES.
• • IS HOME TO 46 MILLION PEOPLE.
• • UKRAINIAN IS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF UKRAINE.
• • RUSSIAN IS ALSO WIDELY SPOKEN.
4. INTRODUCTION
• THE CRIMEAN CRISIS IS AN INTERNATIONAL CRISIS PRINCIPALLY INVOLVING RUSSIA AND UKRAINE OVER
THE CONTROL OF THE CRIMEAN PENINSULA, WHICH UNTIL FEBRUARY 2014WAS ADMINISTERED BY
UKRAINE.
• CURRENTLY, THE CRIMEAN PENINSULA IS CONTROLLED BY THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, A STATUS WHICH
IS NOT RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED NATIONS.
5. WHAT DID PROTESTERS SEEK FROM THEIR
GOVERNMENT?
• OPPOSITION TO THE EUROMAIDAN MOVEMENT
• THE OPPOSITION TOOK CONTROL OF THE CAPITAL CITY KIEV AND THE GOVERNMENT DISTRICT; SOON
AFTER PRESIDENT YANUKOVYCH FLED KIEV AND THE (UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT) VOTED TO RESTORE THE
2004 VERSION OF THE CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE AND REMOVEYANUKOVYCH FROM POWER.
• PRESIDENT YANUKOVYCH REFUSED TO RESIGN AND POLITICIANS FROM UKRAINE'S EAST AND SOUTH
REGIONS, INCLUDING CRIMEA, DECLARED CONTINUING LOYALTY TOYANUKOVYCH.
6. EUROMAIDAN MOMENT
• CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A LARGE EU FLAG IS WAVED ACROSS MAIDAN ON 27 NOVEMBER 2013,
OPPOSITION ACTIVIST POPULAR SINGER RUSLANA ADDRESSES THE CROWDS ON MAIDAN ON 29 NOVEMBER
2013, PRO EU RALLY ON MAIDAN, EUROMAIDAN ON EUROPEAN SQUARE ON 1 DECEMBER, TREE DECORATED
WITH FLAGS AND POSTERS, CROWDS DIRECT HOSE AT MILITSIYA, PLINTH OF THE TOPPLED LENIN STATUE .
• EUROMAIDAN ("EUROSQUARE") WAS A WAVE OF DEMONSTRATIONS AND CIVIL UNREST IN UKRAINE, WHICH
BEGAN ON THE NIGHT OF 21 NOVEMBER 2013 WITH PUBLIC PROTESTS IN ("INDEPENDENCE SQUARE" IN KIEV)
DEMANDING CLOSER EUROPEAN INTEGRATION.
• THE PROTEST HAD BEEN FUELLED BY THE PERCEPTION OF WIDESPREAD GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION ABUSE OF
POWER AND VIOLATION HUMAN RIGHTS IN UKRAINE.
7. • PROTESTS ERUPTED IN THE CAPITAL, KIEV, AFTER THE UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT SUSPENDED
PREPARATIONS FOR SIGNING AN ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT AND A FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH THE
EUROPEAN UNION, TO SEEK CLOSER ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA.
• PRESIDENT HAD ASKED FOR 20 BILLION EUROS (US$27) BILLION IN LOANS AND AID.
• THE EU AND RUSSIA BOTH OFFERED UKRAINE THE POSSIBILITY OF SUBSTANTIAL LOANS.
• RUSSIA ALSO OFFERED UKRAINE CHEAPER GAS PRICES.
8. DEMAND OF CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
• CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE CHAPTER V:
• PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE ARTICLE 106 THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE:
• THIS ARTICLE ARE DEFINED 31 RIGHTS THAT IS ENJOYED BY THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE.
18. MILITARY EVENTS IN CRIMEA, UKRAINE
• On 26 February 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin
ordered urgent military exercises to test the combat
readiness of his armed forces across western Russia.
• From that day onwards, there were reports that pro-Russian
militia had established checkpoints surrounding the city of
Sevastopol.
19. CONT
• Unmarked Russian troops take over Crimea, seize
military units,fortify near Chongar, Kherson Oblast.
• Russian military buildup on Russian-Ukrainian border
• Ukraine seals border with pro-Russian Moldovan
region of Transnistria on 15 March.
20. CONT
• Ukraine, reinforces members west of
Ukraine.
• US,Ukraine accuse Russia of orchestrating
rebellion in eastern and southern Ukraine .
21. RESULT
• Ukraine loses control of Crimea; Republic of Crimea declares independence with intention of joining
Russia after a referendum passes with 96% in support.
• Pro-Russian militias seize the Supreme Council (Crimean parliament) and other key establishments.
• Council of Ministers of Crimea is dissolved, a new pro-Russian Prime Minister is installed, Supreme
Council votes to join the Russian Federation, and holds a referendum on the status of Crimea on
March 16.
• Treaty signed between Crimea and Russia at the Kremlin on March 18 to formally initiate Crimea's
accession to the Russian Federation.
• The Ukrainian Armed Forces are evicted from their bases on March 19 by Crimean protesters and
Russian troops. Ukraine subsequently announces withdrawal of its forces from Crimea.
22. CONCLUSION
• Involves much more than the issues that set it off.
• Question of whether or not Ukraine’s current leaders justified in delaying the signing of an Association
Agreement with the European Union now seems almost irrelevant.
• Crisis has served to crystallize the visceral disgust of many Ukrainians for the regime under which they have
been living.
• Also led to the eruption of powerful latent tensions endemic to the Ukrainian polity.
• More alarmed than I have ever been since I started following events in Ukraine in 2004.
• Can't see happy way out.
• Hope peaceful, stable solution can somehow be reached.
• Mikhail Gorbachev has suggested, Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama should “take a resolute step towards
helping Ukraine return to the path of peaceful development.”
• Seems out of the question. Why?
