User:Lvivske/civilwar

Protests across Ukraine
A 24 November protest in Ivano-Frankivsk saw several thousand protestors gather at the regional administration building. No classes were held in the universities of western Ukrainian cities such as Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Uzhhorod. Protests also took place in other large Ukrainian cities:Kharkiv, Donetsk,Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk, Lviv, and Uzhhorod. The rally in Lviv in support of the integration of Ukraine into the EU was initiated by the students of local universities. This rally saw 25–30 thousand protesters gather on Prospect Svobody (Freedom Avenue) in Lviv. The organizers planned to continue this rally 'till the 3rd Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius,Lithuania, on 28–29 November 2013. A rally in Simferopol, which drew around 300, saw nationalists and Crimean Tatars unite to support European integration; the protesters sang both the Ukrainian national anthem and the anthem of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen.

7 people were injured after 40 titushky (thugs) attacked a tent encampment in Dnipropetrovsk, which was ordered cleared by court order on 25 November. Officials estimated the number of attackers to be 10-15, and police did not intervene in the attacks. Similarly, police in Odessa ignored calls to stop the demolition of Euromaidan camps in the city by a group of 30, and instead removed all parties from the premises. 50 police officers and men in plain clothes also drove out a Euromaidan protest in Chernihiv the same day.

On 25 November, in Odessa, 120 police raided and destroyed a tent encampment made by protesters at 5:20 in the morning. The police detained three of the protesters, including the leader of the Odessa branch of Democratic Alliance, Alexei Chorny. All three were beaten in the police vehicle and then taken to the Portofrankovsk Police Station without their arrival being recorded. The move came after the District Administrative Court hours earlier issued a ban restricting citizens' right to peaceful assembly until New Year. The court ruling places a blanket ban on all demonstrations, the use of tents, sound equipment and vehicles until the end of the year.

On 26 November, a rally of 50 was held in Donetsk.

On 28 November, a rally was held in Yalta; university faculty who attended were pressured to resign by university officials.

On 29 November, Lviv protesters numbered some 20,000. Like in Kiev, they locked hands in a human chain, symbolically linking Ukraine to the European Union (organisers claimed that some 100 people even crossed the Ukrainian-Polish border to extend the chain to the European Union).

On 1 December, the largest rally outside of Kiev took place in Lviv by the statue of Taras Shevchenko, where over 50,000 protesters attended. Mayor Andriy Sadovy, council chairman Peter Kolody, and prominent public figures and politicians were in attendance. An estimated 300 rallied in the eastern city of Donetsk demanding that President Viktor Yanukovych and the government of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resign. Meanwhile, in Kharkiv, thousands rallied with writer Serhiy Zhadan, during a speech, calling for revolution. The protest was peaceful. Protesters claimed at least 4,000 attended, with other sources saying 2,000. InDnipropetrovsk, 1,000 gathered to protest the EU agreement suspension, show solidarity with those in Kiev, and demand the resignation of local and metropolitan officials. They later marched, shouting "Ukraine is Europe" and "Revolution". EuroMaidan protests were also held in Simferopol (where 150-200 attended), and Odessa.

On 2 December, in an act of solidarity, Lviv Oblast declared a general strike in order to mobilize support for protests in Kiev, which was followed by the formal order of a general strike by the cities of Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk.

In Dnipropetrovsk on 3 December, a group of 300 protested in favor of European integration and demanded the resignation of local authorities, heads of local police units, and theSecurity Service of Ukraine (SBU).

On 7 December it was reported that police were prohibiting those from Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk from driving to Kiev.

Protests on 8 December saw record turnout in many Ukrainian cities, including several in eastern Ukraine.

On 9 December, a statue to Vladimir Lenin was destroyed in in the town of Kotovsk in Odessa Oblast. In Ternopil, Euromaidan organizers were prosecuted by authorities.

On 14 December, Euromaidan supporters in Kharkiv voiced their disapproval of authorities fencing off Freedom Square from the public by covering the metal fence in placards. They have since 5 December been the victims of theft and arson. A Euromaidan activist in Kharkiv was attacked by two men and stabbed twelve times. The assailants were unknown but activists told the Kharkiv-based civic organization Maidan that they believe the city’s mayor, Gennady Kernes, to be behind the attack.

On 22 December, 2,000 rallied in Dnipropetrovsk.

In late December, 500 marched in Donetsk. Due to the regime's hegemony in the city, '500 marchers to assemble in Donetsk is the equivalent of 50,000 in Lviv or 500,000 in Kiev.' On 5 January, marches in support of Euromaidan were held in Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, and Kharkiv; the latter three drawing several hundred and Donetsk only 100.

On 11 January, 150 activists met in Kharkiv for a general forum on uniting the nation-wide Euromaidan efforts. A church were some were meeting was stormed by over a dozenthugs, and others attacked meetings in a book store; smashing windows and deploying tear gas to stop the Maidan meetings from taking place.

On 22 January in Donetsk, two simultaneous rallies were held - one pro-Euromaidan and one pro-government. The pro-government rally attracted 600 attendees to about 100 from the Euromaidan side. Police reports claimed 5,000 attended to support the government, to only 60 from Euromaidan. In addition, approximately 150 titushky appeared and encircled the Euromaidan protesters with megaphones and began a conflict, burning wreaths and Svoboda Party flags, and shouted "down with fascists!", but were separated by police. Meanwhile, Donetsk City Council pleaded with the government to take tougher measures against Euromaidan protesters in Kiev. Reports indicated a media blackout took place in Donetsk.

In Lviv on 22 January, amid the police shootings of protesters in the capital, military barracks were surrounded by protesters. Many of the protesters included mothers whose sons are serving in the military, and pleaded with them not to deploy to Kiev.

In Vinnytsia on 22 January thousands protesters blocked the main street of the city and the traffic. Also, they brought "democracy in coffin" to the city hall, as a present to Yanukovych. 23 January Odessa city council member and Euromaidan activist Oleksandr Ostapenko's car was bombed. The Mayor of Sumy threw his support behind the Euromaidan movement on 24 January, laying blame for the civil disorder in Kiev on the Party of Regions and Communists.

Occupation of administrative buildings
Following a standoff between protesters and government forces in Kiev on 23 January, tensions flared as anti-government forces mobilized and overtook a number of western Ukrainian cities, with some forcing local governors to file letters of resignation. By the afternoon, the administrations of Lviv, Rivne and Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyiwere also in the hands of thousands of revolutionary protesters.

In Lviv, the 2,000 stormed the regional administration building shouting "Revolution!"; Oleh Salo, Chief of Local State Administration and presidential appointee, signed a letter of resignation as a result of the takeover. The mayor of Lviv, in response, declared that none of the Black Thursday laws would ever apply on the territory of Lviv. Ternopil city council denounced the Black Thursday laws and demanded they be repealed. Activists in Khmelnytskyi erected barricades around the regional administration, surrounding the building. As a result, Khmelnytskyi local parliament demanded snap elections, the dissolution of the Berkut, and their joining of the People's Rada along with opposition groups in Kiev. Also occupied was Cherkasy, where 20,000 would overtake the administration, but later lose ground to police. By the end of the 23rd, Lviv, Ternopil, Rivne, and Khmelnytskyi remained in control of anti-government forces. Blockades of local administrations that were not physically overtaken occurred in Sumy, Ivano-Frankivsk,Vinnytsia, Poltava, and Zhytomyr.

Prime Minister Azarov has called the occupying force not a part of the political opposition, but rather a rebellion, and president Yanukovych condemned the takeover of public buildings. Counter to the anti-government sentiment, the administration of Crimea announced that it would not respect any outcome from the Euromaidan protests or possible revolution, including if snap elections occurred.

The following day, 24 January, Ivano-Frankivsk was overtaken in its second day of pressure while its governor escaped; meanwhile in Lutsk, 5,000 surrounded the administration building and Volyn Oblast governor Borys Klimchuk resigned, and later, the councilor Volodymyr Voitovych pleaded before the people on his knees before himself resigning as well. The administration of Chernivtsi was stormed and occupied, after which governor Mykhailo Papiev resigned. Lutsk and Uzhhorod's administrations were blockaded, in addition to standing blockades in Poltava, Vinnytsia, and Zhytomyr. The governor of Uzhhorod's ranch burned down, and protesters dispersed for the evening with intent to reconvene the next day. In responsive measures, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolayiv, and Zhytomyr were fortified by police.

Timeline of occupations

 * 23 Jan - Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyi are occupied; Cherkasy is occupied but re-taken by government forces. Lviv governor resigns.
 * 24 Jan - Ivan-Frankivsk is occupied but governor flees. Chernivtsi and Lutsk (Volyn) are occupied and governors resign.