Ukraine crisis: Russian rebels celebrate Debaltseve #39;victory #39;
Pro Russian rebels are celebrating apparent victory, forcing Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the key town of Debaltseve. Fighters stomped on their enemies flag in triumph, but Ukraine #39;s President...
By: Press Association
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Ukraine crisis: Russian rebels celebrate Debaltseve 'victory' - Video
BBC News Ukraine UK and EU #39;s catastrophic misreading of Russia
Britain and the European Union have been accused of a "catastrophic misreading" of the mood in the Kremlin in the run-up to the crisis in Ukraine. The House of Lords EU committee claimed Europe...
By: Jack Parr
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BBC News Ukraine UK and EU's catastrophic misreading of Russia - Video
LIVE: OSCE debate about Ukraine - Day 3
OSCE parliamentarians are holding a special debate to discuss the organisation #39;s response and actions towards the Ukrainian crisis on February 20 in Vienna. The Chief Monitor of the OSCE...
By: RuptlyTV
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LIVE: OSCE debate about Ukraine - Day 3 - Video
Story highlights Moscow planned move against Ukraine before protests, Ukraine's President says German leader says implementing a ceasefire is not easy but is still the best chance for peace Continued violence mars a ceasefire deal intended to end the conflict
Some 49 people died and close to 100 more suffered gunshot wounds in what was the bloodiest day of violence in demonstrations against the country's then Russian-leaning leader.
Soon enough, however, President Viktor Yanukovych would flee the country, prompting Ukrainian activists to declare "victory in the Maidan" and promise a new day for a country long torn between its neighbors, Europe to the west and Russia to the east.
How things have changed. Today, the country is a powder keg driving spiraling tensions between the West and Moscow. A ceasefire between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists is in shambles. Debaltseve, a town at the heart of the battle, is devastated.
"Now, it is finally clear that we struggled on Maidan not against Yanukovych. He was just a cruel and obedient marionette," President Petro Poroshenko said Friday at a ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of the bloodshed.
"Moscow was preparing to the liquidation and tearing Ukraine apart long before the victory of Maidan. They were expecting the fall of Yanukovych and accelerated the course of events," Poroshenko said to the families of protesters who died a year ago.
Poroshenko's speech was just part of a day of commemorations at the Kiev square. The ceremony was to feature music, poetry, the lighting of candles and finally a concert Friday evening. The President was to present awards to the families of activists who died.
According to Ukrainian prosecutors, 77 people died during the 2014 protests, which were sparked by Yanukovych's decision to scrap a trade deal with the European Union and instead turn toward Russia.
Forty-nine of those deaths came on February 20, 2014, when, according to protesters, government snipers opened fire on them.
The street protests, which led to the ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, triggered a chain of events that never could have been predicted.
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Ukraine truce in tatters
Exclusive: Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko on ending the Ukraine conflict
Ukraine #39;s economic and political success is the best weapon to end the conflict in the country, says Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko in an exclusive interview with CCTVNEWS. Klitschko, a former...
By: CCTV News
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Exclusive: Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko on ending the Ukraine conflict - Video