What you need to know about how we got here

www.samsungbola.com | Agen Bola dan Kasino Online | Agen Bola Terpercaya | Bandar Bola |

As world leaders scramble to put a stop to the civil war in eastern Ukraine, explore the 12 days that have defined the conflict since violence first broke out in November 2013.

November 21, 2013: After a year of insisting he would sign a landmark political and trade deal with the European Union, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych suspends talks in the face of opposition from Russia, which has long opposed Ukraine forming closer ties with the EU. Tens of thousands of protesters hit the streets in the following days, highlighting the deep divide between the pro-European west and Yanukovych's power base in the pro-Russian east of Ukraine.

February 20, 2014: Violence that has been simmering for weeks bubbles over when a gunfight erupts between protesters and police in Maidan (Independence) Square in central Kiev, leaving around 100 people dead. Protesters say government snipers opened fire on them; Yanukovych's government blames opposition leaders for provoking the violence.

February 22, 2014: Yanukovych flees Kiev as his guards abandon the presidential compound. Thousands storm the grounds, marvelling at the lavish estate he left behind. Former Prime Minister (and Yanukovych adversary) Yulia Tymoshenko -- jailed in 2011 for "abuse of office" following a trial that was widely seen as politically motivated -- is released from prison and addresses pro-Western protesters in Maidan Square.

March 1, 2014: Russian Parliament signs off on President Vladimir Putin's request to send military forces into Crimea, an autonomous region of southern Ukraine with strong Russian loyalties. Thousands of Russian-speaking troops wearing unmarked uniforms pour into the peninsula. Two weeks later, Russia completes its annexation of Crimea in a referendum that is slammed by Ukraine and most of the world as illegitimate.

April 15, 2014: Kiev's government launches its first formal military action against the pro-Russian rebels who have seized government buildings in towns and cities across eastern Ukraine. Putin warns that Ukraine is on the "brink of civil war." Less than a month later, separatists in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk declare independence following unrecognized referendums.

May 25, 2014: The "Chocolate King" Petro Poroshenko, a candy company magnate and one of the country's richest men, declares victory in Ukraine's presidential elections. Pro-Russian separatists are accused of preventing people from voting in the violence-wracked east of the country.

June 27, 2014: Poroshenko signs the EU Association Agreement -- the same deal that former president Yanukovych backed out of in 2013 -- and warns Russia that Ukraine's determination to pursue its European dreams will not be denied.

July 17, 2014: 298 people are killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is shot down by a surface-to-air missile in rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine. International monitors are initially prevented from reaching the crash site by gunmen, exacerbating the grief of the families of the victims, and it takes days before rebels allow investigators to examine the bodies.

September 20, 2014: Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists agree to a complete ceasefire and buffer zone that requires all sides to pull heavy weaponry back from front lines of conflict, two weeks after an initial truce was agreed. Meanwhile, a convoy of Russian trucks stream into the border area without the Ukrainian government's approval. Russia insists the trucks are filled with humanitarian aid, but Kiev is skeptical.

November 12, 2014: A NATO commander says that Russian tanks, weapons and troops are pouring across the border into Ukraine, in apparent violation of the September ceasefire -- a claim that Moscow denies. And by the end of the year the U.N. says more than 1.7 million children in the conflict-torn areas of eastern Ukraine are facing "extremely serious" situations exacerbated by unusually harsh winter conditions.

January 22, 2015: Donetsk International Airport, which was rebuilt ahead of the European soccer championships in 2012, falls to rebels after months of fighting with Ukrainian government forces. Days later, amid spiraling violence, President Poroshenko announces he will ask the International Criminal Court at The Hague to investigate alleged "crimes against humanity" in the conflict.

February 6, 2015: Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Francois Hollande discuss a new peace proposal with Vladimir Putin as the United States says it is considering supplying lethal aid to Ukraine. But European leaders are opposed to arming Kiev government forces and fear it could further ignite a conflict that has now killed more than 5,000 people, including many civilians.

www.samsungbola.com | Agen Bola dan Kasino Online | Agen Bola Terpercaya | Bandar Bola |