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It’s been a year since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. But nine years ago this week, CBC News correspondent Susan Ormiston and videographer Pascal Leblond witnessed the dramatic events in Ukraine that set the stage for today’s war.
In late February 2014, when much of the world’s attention was on the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the CBC sent a team to Kyiv to cover the Maidan Revolution in Independence Square.
They arrived on the morning of the massacre – snipers shot people protesting against the pro-Kremlin regime of President Viktor Yanukovych. It was the bloody culmination of three months of protests in the capital of Ukraine.
One day, Yanukovych ran away. And in a short time – 24 days – Russia illegally annexed Crimea with a dubious referendum.
CBC News has been on the ground about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since its inception. Do you want to know about his experience there? Send an email to ask@cbc.ca. Our reporter will answer your questions as we approach our one-year anniversary.
Ukraine has told Russia that an end to the current conflict must include the return of Crimea to Ukraine.
Here are some memories from 2014, through pictures and videos.
WATCH | Anti-government protests in Ukraine in February 2014 led to bloodshed:
Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, was the focal point of the Euromaidan revolution in 2014. On the morning of February 20, 2014, snipers killed up to 50 protesters.
Tensions have been building for three months during the brutal cold winter in Kyiv. A wave of massive protests – known as Euromaidan – has started in November after President Yanukovych abruptly refused to sign a free trade agreement with the European Union, choosing instead to approach Russia.
The protestors camped at Independence Square. The soldiers were alert after the previous deadly battle. But on the morning of February 20, 2014, snipers killed up to 50 protesters.
When they arrived, people were still carrying the dead to ambulances, cleaning up the blood, strengthening the barricades and collecting bricks and guns, girding for another protest at night.
Maidan has become a rebel camp. Homemade barricades were made into fortifications to prevent police infiltrators. Everyone was nervous. Parliament is surrounded by Ukrainian soldiers as international pressure builds against Yanukovych, who many believe had a hand in the assassination.
After the tragedy of the previous day, Yanukovych announced an agreement with the opposition. But at the end of the day, he ran away – an unbelievable thing. It’s over: Yanukovych has been ousted.
WATCH | Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych was ousted in February 2014:
In February 2014, Viktor Yanukovych was out of power and his rival, Yulia Tymoshenko, was released from jail. They joined thousands who continued to protest in Kyiv’s Independence Square.
When word spread that Yanukovych was gone, the 350-hectare luxury property was immediately opened to the public. People watching the rich president accused of corruption were curious to explore the property, take in the yacht dock, and the golf course, the palace, the peacock and the helicopter pad.
In Independence Square, the funeral of the slain protesters began. Political opponents such as Yulia Tymoshenko were suddenly released from prison, vowing to take Yanukovych’s place in the upcoming elections. The show is moving fast.
Golden Dome Monastery of St. Michael in Kyiv has become a refuge for Maidan protesters. There are cots for rest, a medical center and a canteen of donated food – canned vegetables and jars of pure fat, Ukrainian specialties.
In Kyiv, we have begun to hear murmurs that “something” will happen in Crimea, more than 800 kilometers southeast of the capital. We made a snap decision to fly to Crimea’s capital, Simferopol, just as pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian crowds gathered outside Crimea’s parliament.
Inside, a group of pro-Russian agitators is trying to wrest control from Ukrainian lawmakers. At this time, the Sochi Olympics were over and the world’s attention turned to the Crimean Peninsula. The tension is building – you can feel it and no one can accurately predict what will happen next.
Then yes.
WATCH | Green-clad soldiers in Crimea won’t reveal who they work for:
In late February 2014, armed soldiers without badges appeared on the streets of Crimea. Backed by Russia, they took control of the parliament in the capital, Simferopol.
What appeared to be Russian military vehicles began converging on the Crimean highway from Sevastopol in the south to the Crimea-Ukraine border in the north. Armed soldiers without badges and vehicles without number plates were seen on the streets. The Kremlin denies the “green men” are part of the Russian Armed Forces.
When we approached some of these individuals and asked who they were, they replied “no comment,” in thickly accented English.
Overnight and during the day on February 27, armed Crimean “militia” people, supported by Russia, forced out of the Crimea Council of Ministers. They took control of the parliament, obstructed and in the following days seized Simferopol airport.
NATO says the military men are actually Russian soldiers.
In early March, Russia organized a referendum in Crimea. The US, Canada and Western allies have called the takeover illegal and are planning sanctions against Russia. US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Kyiv to show support.
Meanwhile, Independence Square has been transformed into a memorial for the so-called “100 Heavenly,” who died in the square during the uprising. Including the police, about 130 people were killed.
The Crimean referendum campaign was volatile, with accusations that Ukraine was run by Nazis, an accusation that Russian President Vladimir Putin uses to this day. On the day of the vote, local television ran a long black and white documentary on the Nazis in World War II. Billboards warn of Nazi threats if Crimea remains under Ukrainian rule.
- This week, join The National, hosted by CBC’s chief correspondent, Adrienne Arsenault, in Kyiv. Watch at 9 pm ET on CBC News Network, 10 pm on CBC-TV, or stream on Gem of CBC District and CBC News Explore.
On March 16, Ukrainians living in Crimea went to the polls. The result was beyond doubt – 97 percent allegedly voted to join Russia, amid reports of voter intimidation, discrimination against Crimean Tatars and the presence of armed guards. Many ethnic Russians there want closer ties with Russia, but the size of the majority is considered large.
On the night of March 16, Russia claimed Crimea and officially seized the territory two days later, setting off a protracted war for more land in Donbas, in eastern Ukraine, with Russia supporting separatist rebels.
On February 24, 2022, Russia went one step further, launching Europe’s largest land war since World War II.
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