Government collapse

Updates from EuroMaidan on the last 24 hours of activity in the government [newest on top]:

22 February (Eastern):
3:09pm: "There is no anarchy that I have seen in Kiev. This is THE most orderly well behaved regime change I have ever witnessed!" Matt Frei @mattfrei 10:23 AM - 22 Feb 2014

11:04am: Activists located yanukovich. He is in Kharkiv outskirts, considering whether he should wait for negotiations with the EU for which he expressed hopes for earlier today or flee to Russia (or use an airport nearby to catch a flight to a more remote location).

10:36am: UK and German foreign ministers calling for the IMF to issue a loan to the new governemnt of Ukraine


10:14am: Yanykovych is removed from power!! 328 votes to fire Yanukovych. He's gone by democratic vote in parliament. Deputies now singing national anthem..

10:13am: PASSED: Ukrainian parliament adopts a regulation on the removal of yanukovich from his position as the President of Ukraine and votes in favor of emergency elections on May 25, 2014

10:09am: 5:05 p.m. Newly elected in a legitimate, legal way Head of the Ukrainian Parliament Oleksandr Turchynov, Batkivshchyna, renews Rada session.

9:53am: The Armed Forces of Ukraine proclaims that it remains loyal to the nation and will not be drawn into a political conflict.. 

7:58am: Yanukovych advisor Hanna Herman denies President Yanukovych has resigned. (Tweet from Christopher Miller @ChristopherJM 6m ago)

7:47am: Espresso TV reports that Yanukovych resigned! ..

7:22am: More Mezhyhir'ya papers. Looks like they tried to burn them but didn't have enough time. Lots of pictures and information on journalists, activists, and MPs. For example, there is an entire page of pictures of Tetyana Chornovil, who was brutally beaten.

7:15am: Found at Mezhehiria: a list of payment to people who were paid by the police. Most were paid 200 hryvniy.. [~$25]

6:55 am: Journalists finds piles of ashes from burned documents at Mezhyhiria (Yanukovych's Palace).

6:44am: Kharkiv [eastern Ukraine, Russian-leaning] appears safe. Activists chanting "Out with the criminal!" No one is attacking them, reports regarding the number of the protesters vary between several thousands and 30,000

6:33am: REGULATION TO FREE TYMOSHENKO
PASSED
322 in favor

 6:06am: Photo evidence from Mezhyhirya (presidential administration) - photos of journalist Tetiana Chornovol, brutally beaten up, allegedly for her reports of higher Ukrainian officials' wealth.

6:04am: PASSED: Constitution circa 2004. 325 votes in favor of the decision.

5:38am: A pile of documents were thrown in the water by Mezhyhirya (presidential residence near Kyiv which now seems vacated) managers. Activists are trying to save the records, looking for boats

5:29am: MAIDAN HAS DIGNITY
Maidan self-defense calls on Ukrainians to maintain peace in the country, to prevent looting or vandalism, and coordinate self-organized efforts. Every state building is the property of the Ukrainian people and must be protected from damage.

5:07am: Channel 5 finally up to date: Announced that yanukovich's plane never landed in Kharkiv, touched down in UAE.

5:03am: Reuters report that yanukovich is still in Ukraine. “Everything’s ok with him,” a source told Reuters. “He is in Ukraine.” Asked whether yanukovich was in the capital, the source replied: “I cannot say.” -- The Guardian
Yeah, right, that's why his official residence is fully available to the public and not guarded anymore. Journalists are let it freely, other people flocking to the site out of curiousity are asked to wait until a bit later.

4:54am: Yanukovich's lavish residence, Mezhyhir'ya, just outside of Kyiv has been opened for people. While before people couldn't even get on the road to it, security now let people come to the gates and journalists are let inside, but they haven't been in the mansion yet. Yanukovich's residence has been a heated topic of debate, many believe it is stolen real estate. Crowds are gathering outside to be let in, security forces are being cooperative and remind that there is to be no looting.

4:02am: Two more MPs leave the Party of Regions. yanukovich is missing, most likely fleed the country (see our earlier reports on AOJ92C plane route to the Persian Gulf). The parliament is set to arrange for new government and secure the peace and integrity of Ukraine, vote for yanukovich resignation/impeachment (they need 300 votes for that and still short of some, more MPs are expected to join them).

3:49am: 10.46 a.m. Six more MPs leave the Party of Regions [government party]

3:23am: 10.20 a.m. Turchynov: most ministers are unaccounted for, we don't know where yanukovich is; the parliament is the only legitimate state body in Ukraine.

 3:21am: The parliament plans to approve speaker's resignation, elect new speaker, adopt the document to prevent looting, then - new government, new prosecutor general, new head of security service, impeachment and setting the date for presidential elections. Journalsts were allowed to Mezhyhirya, yanukovich wasn't there, Kharkiv administration says they would know if yanukovich was in town.

3:09am: Volodymyr Rybak, speaker of the parliament, pens a letter of resignation


21 February:
11:23pm: ITAR TASS: Kharkiv airport officially denies yanukovich landed there overnight.

10:15pm: "Now confirmed that President Yanukovich tried to get the Army as well to move against protesters. He wanted same in 2004 but was stopped" Tweet from Carl Bildt, Swedish Foreign Minister @carlbildt. 5:49 PM - 21 Feb 2014

10:02pm: yanukovich may or may not have landed in Fujairah, UAE, or Muscat, Oman. We are trying to confirm this information as him fleeing the country like this would dramatically increase the chances of the parliament voting in favor of impeachment today. Moreover, NO information on yanukovich in Kharkiv, which means the chances of him actually being there are pretty slim.