23 January Following a standoff between protesters and government forces in
Kyiv on 23 January, tensions flared as anti-government forces mobilized and overtook the Regional State Administration (RSA) of a number of
western Ukrainian cities, with some
local governors being forced to file letters of resignation. By the afternoon, the administrations of
Lviv,
Rivne,
Ternopil, and
Khmelnytskyi Oblasts were also in the hands of anti-government protesters. In Lviv, around 2,000 protesters stormed the RSA building shouting "Revolution!"
Governor Oleg Salo, a presidential appointee, signed a letter of resignation as a result of the takeover. Activists in
Khmelnytskyi erected barricades and surrounded the Khmelnytskyi Oblast RSA building. As a result, the Khmelnytskyi city council issued a series of demands including snap elections and the dissolution of the Berkut.
Cherkasy RSA was also occupied when thousands of protestors stormed the building but were later expelled by police. By the end of 23 January, Lviv, Ternopil, Rivne, and Khmelnytskyi remained in the control of anti-government forces. In addition, a number of local administrations were blockaded but not physically overtaken, including those of
Sumy,
Ivano-Frankivsk,
Vinnytsia,
Poltava, and
Zhytomyr. Prime Minister Azarov called the occupying force not a part of the political opposition, but rather a rebellion, and president Yanukovych condemned the takeover of public buildings.
24 January Ivano-Frankivsk was overtaken on the second day of opposition pressure while, according to some, Governor Chudnov escaped; meanwhile in Lutsk, 5,000 opposition members surrounded the administration building, and
Volyn Oblast Governor Kilmchuk momentarily kneeled before protesters pleading with them to disperse peacefully. Ceding to protestors' demands, Governor Kilmchuk and Councillor Voitovych resigned. The RSA of
Chernivtsi was stormed and occupied by thousands of protestors who forced Governor Mykhailo Papiev to tender his resignation.
Lutsk and
Uzhhorod's administrations were blockaded, in addition to standing blockades in
Poltava,
Vinnytsia, and
Zhytomyr.
Uzhhorod Governor Oleksandr Ledida's ranch was burned down in a suspected arson attack. Uzhhorod protesters dispersed for the evening with intent to reconvene the next day. In response police fortified the RSAs in
Dnipropetrovsk,
Mykolayiv, and
Zhytomyr. By 11 p.m., the regional state administration of Sumy was breached and occupied, but officials refused to capitulate. but the remainder of police stood down peacefully to the cheers of protesters; governor Ivan Movchan not resigned. Protesters managed to occupy the RSA building in
Chernihiv, demanding the resignation of the governor. Later that day, protesters occupied the chamber of the RSA in
Poltava as 2,000 protesters overwhelmed 400 police, forming an impromptu parliament named
Nationalna Rada.
Uzhhorod was blockaded by protesters, who were split between pro-government and anti-government factions. In
Sumy, over 5,000 citizens protested in front of the RSA building but did not attempt to take it. 150 Kherson Residents block local regional state administration. Also on 25 January, regional lawmakers in
Lviv voted to establish a parallel government. Mykolayiv was occupied by Party of Regions members, with the interior barricaded; opposition leaders were not allowed to enter.
26 January A notable shift occurred in the country's east, with
BBC News suggesting, "[U]nrest is spreading further into the country's east, which has traditionally had
closer ties with Russia and is President
Viktor Yanukovych's support base". Protesters in
Zaporizhia threatened to seize the RSA, demanding the resignation of the governor. (He indeed died in mysterious circumstances in March 2015). By 2 p.m., the crowd grew to 10,000 and attempted to storm the RSA against hundreds of police guarding the entrance; at least five protesters were injured as police violently dispersed the crowd using rubber bullets and batons, with the help of plain-clothed
titushky wearing white armbands; over 200 were arrested. but were repelled by pro-government supporters and municipal barricades. In Sumy, protesters occupied the city's council building with a
Batkivshchyna MP taking leadership; 500 protesters picketed the entrance to the
Mykolayiv RSA; there was suspicion that
titushky enforcements were stationed inside. 50 members of the right-wing group
Right Sector attempted to seize the building, but were dissuaded by the peaceful protesters. 3,000 attempted to capture the RSA in
Dnipropetrovsk and were met by over 200 police; 37 were arrested. The conflict led to instances of rioting, Titushky violently beat protesters, whom they hunted down in the streets; they also wore identifiable yellow arm bands. Dnipropetrovsk Governor Kolesnikov called the protesters 'extreme radical thugs from other regions'. There were also mass demonstrations in
Kirovohrad but the RSA was guarded by a heavy police presence; In
Kremenchuk (Poltava Oblast), protesters attempted to seize the city council. Some 2,000 people gathered for a people's assembly in Cherkasy, south-east of Kyiv; Some managed to break windows and breach the building. One-thousand protesters in Kyiv advanced on the RSA in the capital, forming nearby but not assaulting the building.
27 January At 12:20 a.m. on the 27th, a blockade in Cherkasy was re-established, only for police forces to later break it, arresting twelve citizens; foreign journalists reporting on the scene were beaten by Berkut troops. Another attempt was made on Dnipropetrovsk early 27 January, but was repelled. Police announced on the 27th plans to re-take Chernihiv's regional administration, but instead, protesters were able to come and go within the administration without any fight or resistance from police. Uzhhorod remained in a standoff, but not blocked due to the police presence. Eleven citizens were arrested in connection with the three-day blockade of Sumy's RSA following a late night dispersal where 300 internal troops beat protesters. The tactics used by police were denounced by the mayor of the city. Mykolayiv remained barricaded from the inside with police officers stationed there, and doors remained barred to all opposition politicians, but not members of the Party of Regions. In Zhytomyr, the RSA remained barricaded from indoors by police, preventing even journalists from entering.
Night Wolves bikers from Russia secured the RSA in Sevastopol. Patrols were also set up in Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Simferopol.
28 January Activists in Lviv announced they would partially vacate the RSA to allow local officials to work, but keep up barricades; infighting ensued between activists and members of Svoboda over control of the building, which remained occupied. Protesters occupying the RSA in Chernihiv agreed to withdraw from the building after deputies agreed to support the demands of the opposition; a statement was made by both opposition and ruling government politicians supporting the removal of the anti-protest laws and amnesty for Euromaidan activists and political prisoners. Thousands rallied and besieged the RSA in Uzhhorod, which was barricaded by police from the interior. Khmenlytskyi was further barricaded by opposition members to defend it from police. In Kherson, metal grilles were installed on the windows. On social networks, Party of Regions supporters attempted to spread mass hysteria in Mykolayiv by spreading false information of the city being under attack; only 60 supporters were found outside the RSA and no attempt to seize the building occurred. Sumy was barricaded by police and provincial and city council members were forced to convene elsewhere.
29 January The RSA in Lviv was vacated except for the second floor, where the governor's office is located. Several hundred protesters blocked the entrance to the Zhytomyr RSA in the morning. Pro-government supporters also arrived and changed, "Fascists will not pass;" crowds dispersed by 2:30 p.m. Twenty-six activists of the
Zaporozhye meetings of 26 Jan 2014 were sentenced to remain under house arrest (among them two for 24 hours a day) until the final court decision. Six activists were released on bail until the final court decision.
30 January In Lviv protesters handed the RSA over to the Lviv Regional Council. Employees of the regional council sealed up the second floor of the building which houses the governor and his administration.
1–17 February On 1 February, the barricades around the RSA in
Vinnytsia were partially dismantled for fire safety purposes; protesters said they would only be fully removed once the governor met their demands. On 2 February, the RSA in
Poltava went back under government control. On 5 February,
President Viktor Yanukovych officially dismissed Borys Klimchuk as
Volyn Oblast governor and appointed Oleksandr Bashkalenko to this post. On 5 February 2014
The New York Times described the RSA in
Dnipropetrovsk as "a fortress" including a "lobby strung with razor wire and packed with security officials" and reported the police blocking "all but official cars from taking a nearby road". On 16 February protesters released their captured RSAs to comply with the "Law on amnesty of Ukrainian protesters" and allow the exemption from criminal liabilities and punishment for Euromaidan protesters who committed crimes in the period 27 December 2013 through 2 February 2014 to come into effect. The Ivano-Frankivsk regional administration resumed operation while several dozen former occupiers remained posted in the square in front of the building.
18 February on 19 February 2014. At 2:30pm, protesters in
Ivano-Frankivsk stormed the Ministry of Internal Affairs and then took over the headquarters of the
Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). SBU staff refused to surrender the building, and protesters threw
molotov cocktails and rocks at the building; all windows in the building were shattered, security bars removed, and the entrance set on fire.
Berkut officers, who boarded themselves in the city's police station, eventually surrendered and left unarmed. The RSA was later captured. On the 19th, Berkut officers stationed in Ternopil defected to the side of the people, swearing on a Bible an oath of allegiance in front of up to 7,000 people. The RSA was then captured. The RSA in Zhytomyr was stormed by 3,000 people the next day, and set fire to the police department. The mayor of the city resigned from the
Party of Regions. In
Lviv, 10,000 protesters seized the general prosecutor's office, the local
Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVS) building, and the SBU building. Documents from the prosecutor's office were thrown out and burned. The Interior Ministry building was burned. Soldiers in the MVS building were allowed to surrender unarmed. A
BBC correspondent suggested the Interior Troops who did surrender were likely conscripts who support the protests.
19 February In
Kharkiv, pro-government assailants attempted to burn down the
Svoboda party headquarters. In
Kryvyi Rih, unknowns set fire to
UDAR's offices and attempted to break in. A woman was shot dead in Khmelnytskyi during the storming of a local SBU office by anti-government EuroMaidan protesters. "The car arrived to the building and the woman was shot from it, with six to eight bullets in her chest. She died in the ambulance". Two men were also suffered gunshot wounds. Afterwards, activists set the regional SBU building on fire with burning car tires. Protesters then took the local RSA. In Chernivtsi, several thousand citizens stormed the local RSA, overtaking it. Governor Papiev then resigned from his post. In
Lutsk the RSA of
Volyn Oblast was captured by protesters; there was no police resistance. The police, following skirmishes, defected to the people. Protesters then took the governor of Volyn Oblast captive, forced him to his knees to ask forgiveness, and resign; they then doused him in water to remind him of the fire hoses used on protesters in Kyiv. Protesters threatened to go to his house and capture his family as well to force his resignation. In
Rivne 3,000–4,000 citizens rallied outside the prosecutor's office. The regional MVS department was also seized, with police surrendering the building; and the head of the regional SBU said they would work with the people and that Alpha units would not be used.
Right Sector also took the Berkut base in Rivne. Rivne's RSA was also taken. In
Sumy, protesters besieged the local Ministry of Internal Affairs department, demanding police withdraw. Several were injured when fired upon by police with rubber bullets. Locals sacked the headquarters of the Party of Regions. One-thousand five-hundred protesters in
Vinnytsia stormed the regional
Ministry of Internal Affairs department. In
Uzhhorod the RSA was stormed and seized after police vacated the area. In
Poltava, a thousand protesters clashed with police outside the RSA, and then issued an ultimatum that if they were not allowed entry they would barricade the building and prevent it from functioning. By late night, the building remained barricaded and surrounded by protesters, and defended by police. The
Korczowa border crossing into
Poland was blocked by protesters. Hours after protesters seized the prosecutor's office in central Lviv and forced a surrender by Interior Ministry police, the executive committee of the region council—also called the People's Rada—claimed control over
Lviv Oblast. Weapons and ammunition were stolen from the
Ukrainian Security Service in Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv.
20 February In
Cherkasy Oblast about 500 residents of the town Mankivka, city of Uman set up a checkpoint on the highway from Odesa to Kyiv, near Podibna. After a jeep ran over a 40-year-old person, killing the victim, an angry crowd attacked a bus transport carrying Interior Troops; the crowd smashed its windows and slashed its tires. Later, SBU officers were witnessed burning documents outside the SBU headquarters in Cherkasy. By 8am, protesters and police in Poltava ended their standoff, reaching an agreement that the RSA would be blockaded and police would be allowed to occupy the interior, thus preventing clashes while shutting down the building. 1,500 demonstrators occupied city hall, and others assaulted the RSA with petrol bombs. By evening, police surrendered the RSA and City Hall peacefully. The head of the SBU in Khmelnytsky region resigned as a result of the deaths that occurred while repelling protesters with live ammunition. He was then arrested and taken to a military detention center for questioning. Berkut were recalled from Kyiv back to Volyn region. and the RSA remained occupied by members of
Right Sector. In Uzhhorod, the SBU and Berkut defected to the people, and police vowed not to execute orders. The regional council dissolved the Party of Regions with council members turning in their membership cards. Rallies continued in Sumy, demanding security forces to withdraw from Kyiv, members of the opposition entered the RSA for negotiations. In Lviv, police and SBU defected to the side of the Euromaidan protesters and the new regional authorities (People's Rada). At 6:30pm, an explosion occurred somewhere at the Berkut barracks, and the building caught fire (the cause of which was not officially determined). Reporters saw masked individuals fleeing the scene. 2 Berkut died in the fire. In Vinnytsia, protesters broke into the Communist and Party of Regions headquarters and occupied the buildings. On 22 February, Victor Yanukovych was effectively overthrown, marking the success of the
2014 Ukrainian revolution. The governors of Mykolayiv and Chernihiv resigned. The governor of Vinnytsia defected from Party of Regions. The governor of Kharkiv fled the country after being charged with separatism by the SBU; the RSA in Kharkiv was occupied by protesters wishing to examine his office. On 23 February, Zaporizhia RSA was occupied by 4,500 protesters, and the governor of Vinnytsia resigns from his post. On 24 February, the governor of Volyn resigned. Kharkiv was blockaded. Governor of Sumy resigns. Governor of Kyiv Oblast resigns. Cherkasy's regional council announced an extraordinary session to dismiss the governor of the RSA on the 25th. On 25 February, the governor of Cherkasy resigned. On 26 February, the governor of Kharkiv,
Mikhail Dobkin, resigned.
Post-revolution On 15 March, new governors were appointed for Khmelnytsky, Vinnytsia, and Chernivtsi. ==Banning of political parties==