When on November 21, 2013, then President Viktor Yanukovych announced his decision to postpone the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union (EU) and the so-called Maidan Revolution was triggered by it, few observers in Europe could imagine the consequences that this would entail.
Overwhelmed by the events and citizen protests of November, which resulted in the death of more than a hundred people, Yanukovych decided to leave the country in February. In the early elections held in May the victory went to Petro Poroshenko.
Poroshenko clearly opted for a policy of rapprochement with the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and by a distancing and confrontation with the Russian Federation.
From then on, events accelerated, especially in the Donetsk basin (also known as Donbas), a historical, cultural and economic region in eastern Ukraine, bordering Russia and populated mostly by inhabitants of Russian origin.
The result, for the moment, is an armed conflict that has already claimed more than 14,000 deaths, 30,000 wounded, 1.4 million displaced people and 3.4 million people in need of humanitarian aid.
These are the key dates of the conflict:
2014
March 16: Crimea holds a independence referendum for Russian annexation. The “yes” wins. On March 20, the Duma ratifies the agreement by which Crimea joins Russia. Ukraine withdraws its troops from Crimea on March 24.
April 6-7: Pro-Russians seize regional administration headquarters in cities in eastern Ukraine: Donetsk, Kharkov, Lugansk, Slaviansk or Gorlovka. In subsequent days, there will be clashes, with Odessa as the focus of the conflict, with 46 dead on May 2.
May 12: Donetsk and Lugansk self-proclaim their independence and ask to join Russia, after a referendum between combats and without international observers.
May 25: Petro Poroshenko wins the presidential elections in Ukraine.
July 17: Downing of the Malaysian Airlines plane with 298 passengers in Donetsk. The United States accused the pro-Russian rebels and an international commission concluded four years later that the demolition was caused by a missile from the Russian Army.
September 5: A ceasefire goes into effect. But already on the 12th Ukraine denounces violations of the truce by the pro-Russian side at the UN.
September 14: The party of the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, wins the elections to the legislative chambers of the annexed Crimea and the port of Sevastopol.
2015
January 26: Kiev imposes a state of emergency in Donetsk and Luhansk.
October 2: Summit in Paris between the heads of state of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany for the withdrawal of weapons from both sides.
December 16: The Ukrainian government imposes a trade blockade on Crimea before which Putin suspends the free trade agreement with this country.
2017
March 3: The self-proclaimed Republic of Donetsk breaks commercial ties with the rest of Ukraine.
September 1: The Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU enters into force.
2018
August 31: Donetsk leader Alexander Zakharchenko is killed by an explosion in the center of the separatist region.
November 11: Pro-Russian interim leaders Denis Pushilin (Donetsk) and Leonid Pasechik (Lugansk) win elections in their respective regions, considered illegal by Ukraine.
2019
April 21 – Vladimir Zelensky defeats Poroshenko in the second round of the Ukrainian presidential election.
December 8: Ukraine and Russia resume negotiations on Donbas at the Paris summit. Two days later Putin and Zelensky set a timetable to achieve peace.
2020
June 3: The Luhansk Parliament adopts Russian, the most widely spoken language in Donbas, as the only official language of the territory, to the detriment of Ukrainian.
2021
April 3: Kiev and Moscow accuse each other of mobilizing troops on the border for a possible offensive.
April 13 – Russia sends two armies and three airborne units to the western borders.
April 17: Four Russian warships pass from the Aegean to the Black Sea in two days.
August 23: 46 States and organizations, including NATO, sign the Crimean Platform in Kiev, in which the West demands that Russia return the Ukrainian peninsula.
December 16: The EU threatens Moscow with sanctions if it invades Ukraine.
2022
January 14: Ukraine denounces a massive cyberattack against government websites.
January 20: The Russian Navy announces large-scale exercises throughout the national territory with the participation of more than 140 ships and almost 10,000 soldiers.
January 23: Blinken promises a stern response to any Russian incursion into Ukraine.
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
