The crisis began in November when Ukraine's then president, Viktor Yanukovich, under Russian pressure, turned his back on a trade deal with the EU and accepted a $15 billion bailout from Moscow. That prompted three months of street protests, leading to the overthrow of Yanukovich.
Russia
Moscow denounced the events in Ukraine as an illegitimate coup and refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities. In late February, Russian troops seized the Crimean peninsula in a bloodless military takeover in order to protect Russian people.