As the standoff in Crimea continues into its second week, Ukraine and former Soviet master Russia remain embroiled in a bitter political crisis. But what sparked the crisis?

1. What sparked the crisis in Ukraine?

2. The last-minute decision in November last
year by then-President Viktor Yanukovych to
abandon a landmark association agreement
with the European Union in favor of closer
ties with Moscow precipitated the turmoil.
Credit: World Economic Forum

3. It sparked a chain of events that quickly escalated from thousands of protestors voicing their displeasure on
Kiev’s Independence Square, to violent clashes that saw more than 100 lose their lives in running battles with
the authorities.

4. An embattled president later saw his offices stormed, fleeing the capital and finding himself removed from
power by a parliamentary vote to be replaced by an interim government headed by Arseniy Yatsenyuk,
pictured here with Catherine Ashton, high representative of the Union for foreign affairs and security policy for
the European Union.
Credit: European Union

5. On Feb. 26, thousands of protesters clashed in
front of the parliament building in Simferopol,
Crimea, with pro-Russian protestors calling for the
autonomous region to secede from Ukraine and seek
assistance from Russia.
On Feb. 28, this call was heeded, with forces loyal
to Moscow occupying airports and other strategic
locations in Crimea.
Credit: Elizabeth Arrott / Voice of America

6. On March 6, European leaders meeting in Brussels approved a
wide range of economic and development assistance measures
worth more than 11 billion euros ($15 billion) to support a
beleaguered interim government in Ukraine. But what does the
EU aid package mean for Ukraine’s immediate economic future
and how can these funds help the country get back on its feet?
Find out in this Devex news report.