Chronology of events in the Kharkiv region

24 November 2013

There was a rally for European integration. Up to 300 people gathered near the monument to Taras Shevchenko.

1 December 2013

1000 people took part in the Euromaidan rally

23 January 2014

Thousands of people took to the streets of Kharkiv to protest against the events unfolding in Kyiv, where angry demonstrators riot and demand the resignation of the government and President Yanukovych.

22 February 2014

A congress of deputies of local councils of the south-east of Ukraine and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea took place in Kharkiv, the participants of which decided to “take responsibility for ensuring constitutional order in their territories”, lay responsibility for the situation on the ground on local governments, recommend that the population self-organize together with law enforcement authorities, as well as to call on army units to remain in their places of deployment. In addition, it was proposed to recall deputies from the Verkhovna Rada to work in the field

1 March 2014

Pro-Russian protesters have established control over the Kharkiv Regional State Administration. According to media reports, Euromaidan activists barricaded themselves in the building, but young people with St. George ribbons infiltrated them. It was reported that several dozen people were injured during the clashes, some of them were hospitalized.
It was also reported that several thousand people with flags of Russia, Ukraine and the Soviet Union had gathered on Sumskaya Street in front of the administration building. The Russian flag was also installed in front of the regional administration building.

8 March 2014

In Kharkov, about 10 national radicals attacked activists returning from a rally against the current Kiev authorities. As a result, several activists were injured, one of them was subsequently hospitalized.

9 March 2014

In a cafe in the center of Kharkov, Right Sector militants shot local businessman E. Slonevsky with a machine gun. As a result of the shelling, another visitor to the cafe was also killed and a waiter was wounded.

15 March 2014

On the night of March 15, 2014, Right Sector militants staged a massacre in Kharkov, as a result of which two people were killed and four were wounded. According to journalists, the militants were led by Andrei Beletsky, one of the leaders of the Right Sector. However, there was no information about his arrest. There were suggestions that he, along with other militant leaders, could be released by the police.

6 April 2014

Supporters of federalization  took control of  the building of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration.

7 April 2014

Supporters of federalization and opponents of the current government erected  barricades near the entrance to the building of the Kharkiv Regional Administration , using, among other things, car tires. This is reported by local media, specifying that the entrance of administration employees is still partially restricted.

Also, pro-Russian activists and supporters of Euromaidan fought on Freedom Square. According to eyewitnesses, the participants in the fight used bats and bottles.

8 April 2014

A fire broke out in the building of the Kharkiv regional administration.

Law enforcement agencies of Ukraine  carried out an operation during which 70 activists who seized the institution were detained in the Kharkiv regional administration.

10 April 2014

The mayor of Kharkiv, Gennady Kernes, who was seriously wounded as a result of the assassination attempt,  was operated on  at the Israeli Rambam clinic in Haifa. This was announced by the representative of the medical institution.

13 April 2014

Supporters of federalization after the action near the Kharkiv pre-trial detention center in support of the arrested activists went to the city council building, where they were able to get into the courtyard. After negotiations with the police guarding the building, the protesters left the courtyard. Supporters and opponents of federalization also clashed in Kharkov

21 April 2014

PEOPLE'S GOVERNOR ELECTED AT A RALLY IN KHARKIV

Supporters of federalization at a rally in the center of Kharkov elected the "people's governor" of the region. According to local media, Vladimir Varshavsky from Kharkiv became the winner. The protesters insist  on the dismissal of the governor of the Kharkov region Igor Baluta, appointed by Kiev. The protesters call on their supporters to intensify actions for holding a referendum. Denis Levin, a member of the coordinating council of the South-East movement, noted that the task of the protesters is to come to the next session of the Kharkiv Regional Council and demand that the deputies organize a referendum, “since this is one of the ways to restore the rule of law in the country.”

23 April 2014

IN KHARKIV, SUPPORTERS OF THE FEDERALIZATION OF UKRAINE PICKETED THE CITY HALL BUILDING

Supporters of the federalization of the country,  according to local media, picketed the city hall building with a large poster "No elections without a referendum." Among their demands is also giving state status to the Russian language. Supporters of the current Kiev government gathered near the Eternal Flame, they chanted slogans in support of "one and indivisible Ukraine." Actions passed without clashes. Even before the rallies began, the police took increased security measures, increasing the number of law enforcement officers who were tasked with preventing clashes between demonstrators, as well as preventing a possible seizure of the city hall building. Deputies of the Kharkiv City Council at the session adopted an appeal to the Verkhovna Rada with a demand to adopt a law on holding a local referendum.

27 April 2014

Rallies of supporters of federalization and Euromaidan activists took place in Kharkiv, which ended in a mass brawl. Fans of Metalist Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro decided to hold a procession in support of the unity of Ukraine from the Constitution Square, where about 250 Euromaidan supporters rallied, to the Metalist stadium. As a result of the conflict between the protesters and supporters of federalization, 14 people received minor and moderate injuries, including two police officers. Eight of the victims were taken to medical facilities, others were treated on the spot.

28 April 2014

Kharkiv Mayor Gennady Kernes  received a gunshot wound  to the back during a run. Local doctors operated on him and sent him to Israel for further treatment at night, where he underwent a second operation. A case has been opened under the article "attempted murder".

13 supporters of the federalization of Ukraine were detained in Kharkiv. Activists "illegally set up tents," the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said.

29 April 2014

The security forces found a  homemade bomb at the site of the attack on the mayor of Kharkov.

1 May 2014

SUPPORTERS OF FEDERALIZATION PICKET THE REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION IN KHARKIV

About two thousand supporters of federalization are picketing the building of the regional administration in Kharkiv. They came there after the May Day rally of the Communist Party and the South-East movement. It is reported that now people have entered into negotiations with the police, who guard all the entrances to the building.

4 May 2014

RALLY IN KHARKIV: PEOPLE CARRY FLOWERS AND CANDLES IN MEMORY OF THOSE KILLED IN ODESSA

Kharkiv residents demand to find and punish the perpetrators of the Odessa tragedy, among which, in their opinion, are local football fans. Several hundred people gathered on Sunday in the city center on Freedom Square. They brought flowers and candles in memory of the fallen inhabitants of Odessa.

29 May 2014

Near the city of Izyum (Kharkiv region) on Thursday, an attack was made on a convoy of the armed forces of Ukraine. According to the electronic version of the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper, as a result of the shelling, one serviceman was killed and three more were injured.