1. 21 November 2013: Ukrainian Government announces that the EU Association Agreement is being abandoned.

This prompted major protests in Kiev. 2. 30 November: Police launch raid on student protesters; TV images spur protests which grow during December 3. 17 December: Russian President Vladimir Putin offers economic lifeline to Ukraine, with $15bn of loans and cheaper gas supplies; protesters see it as Moscow buying off President Yanukovych 4. 16 January 2014: Parliament passes anti-protest laws, which opponents call "draconian"; most of the laws were later repealed 5. 19-20 January: Intense clashes between demonstrators and riot police. 6. 22 January: First protest deaths occur. Two people die from gunshot wounds after clashes with police. The body of an activist found in a forest days after his abduction. 7. 23-24 January: Protesters seize government buildings in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and other western Ukrainian cities; protests spread east 8. 28 January: Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and his government resign 9. 14-16 February: Under an amnesty deal, protesters vacate occupied government buildings, and charges against those arrested dropped 10. 18 February: Parliament speaker rejects debate on changing constitution; violent clashes erupt in Kiev, leaving many dead 11. 20 February: Independence Square and nearby streets become a battlefield. A minimum of 77 people is killed in a 48-hour period, and hundreds wounded in clashes between protesters and police, including many shot by uniformed snipers. 12. 23 February: Parliament names speaker Olexander Turchynov as interim president. Turchynov tells MPs they have until Tuesday to form a new unity government. 13. 24 February: Arrest warrant issued for Yanukovych. 14. 27 February: New coalition formed in parliament to unite opposition parties. In Crimean capital Simferopol, pro-Russian gunmen seize key buildings. Yanukovych issues statement through Russian media saying he is still legitimate president. 15. 1 March: Russia's parliament approves a request by President Vladimir Putin to use Russian forces across Ukraine. In response, Ukraine's acting President Olexander Turchynov puts his army on full alert. Large pro-Russian rallies take place in several Ukrainian cities outside Crimea, including in Kharkiv, the country's second-biggest city. 16. 2 March: US President Barack Obama tells his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Russia has flouted international law by sending troops to Ukraine. In a 90minute telephone conversation, Obama urges the Russian leader to pull forces back to bases in Crimea. Putin responds by saying that Moscow reserves the right to protect its interests and those of Russian speakers in Ukraine. 17. 3 March: Russia's military gives Ukrainian forces a deadline to surrender or face an assault, Ukrainian defense sources said. The head of Russia's Black Sea Fleet Aleksander Vitko sets the deadline and threatens an attack "across Crimea".