Support for the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014 of protests by Euromaidan and days of violent clashes between protesters and police in the Ukrainian capital Kiev—the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, fled the capital on February 21. The Verkhovna Rada (the parliament of Ukraine) subsequently voted unanimously to impeach Yanukovych. This was followed by the interim appointment of the Yatsenyuk Government, as well as the appointment of a new Acting President of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said President Yanukovych was illegally impeached and that Russia continues to regard him as Ukraine’s legitimate president. Russia describes the Yatsenyk government as "self-proclaimed" and the events
2014 Hrushevskoho Street riots Automaidan activists by 3 a.m. blocked all roads exiting Yanukovych's Mezhyhyria mansion. In the early morning, protesters in central Kiev continued supplying molotov cocktails and advanced on police cordons while fortifying barricades to their rear as police continuously used water cannons, fired rubber bullets, and jammed cell phone signals. By the evening, Vitali Klitschko had arranged a night-time meeting with President Viktor Yanukovych at his presidential mansion "Mezhyhirya" in an attempt to argue for snap elections in order to defuse the situation from escalating into further violence. The meeting ended with Yanukovych promising to resolve the crisis with a 'special