At the end of 2013, Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s president, postponed signing an association agreement with the European Union, choosing instead to pursue closer ties with Russia. Protesters began massing on Kyiv’s central square, known as the Maidan. Weeks of tension spilling into violence culminated with Yanukovych’s ouster on Feb. 22.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
Foreign Affairs: Putin’s game plan in Ukraine
A photograph taken on Feb. 2, 2019 shows the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin during a heavy snowfall in Moscow.
