Viktor Yanukovych 2014 Yanukovych called Russia's annexation of Crimea "a tragedy", the 2014 Crimean referendum "a form of protest" and he stated he hopes it will become part of Ukraine again. Yanukovych said he would try to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to return Crimea to Ukraine. He squarely blamed the Yatsenyuk Government and acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov for Ukraine's loss of Crimea. He also said he gave no orders to open fire on Euromaidan protesters. Yanukovych said: "We must set such a task and search for ways to return to Crimea on any conditions, so that Crimea may have the
History of Ukraine the Ukrainian parliament on 22 February voted to remove Yanukovych from power (on the grounds that his whereabouts were unknown and he thus could not fulfil his duties), and to free Yulia Tymoshenko from prison. The same day Yanukovych supporter Volodymyr Rybak resigned as speaker of the Parliament, and was replaced by Tymoshenko loyalist Oleksandr Turchynov, who was subsequently installed as interim President. Yanukovych had fled Kiev, and subsequently gave a press conference in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. In March 2014, the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation resulted in Crimea being annexed by Russia. Though official results