As part of the Euromaidan movement, regional state administration (RSA) buildings in various oblasts of Ukraine were occupied by protesters, starting on 23 January 2014.
Background
Ukraine had become gripped by unrest since President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union on 21 November 2013. A widespread movement known as 'Euromaidan' demanded closer ties with the European Union, and the ousting of President Yanukovych. Significant support for the movement built in western Ukrainian oblasts as the severity of the unrest in Kyiv grew. As a result, protesters in these regions began to seize control of the oblast governor's offices, known as regional state administration (RSA) buildings.
By 27 January, ten of the country's twenty-seven RSAs had been overthrown, and others had come under threat.
Occupiers later relinquished control of the buildings, to meet the terms of a legal amnesty for Euromaidan protesters that came into effect on 17 February, as directed by the government of Ukraine. The day after the amnesty came into effect, protesters seized control of the buildings they had previously vacated in response to a crackdown on demonstrations on the Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv by the Berkut special police force.
After the Euromaidan movement successfully overthrew President Yanukovych on 22 February, RSA occupations by Euromaidan activists gradually ceased. Opposition to the Euromaidan in largely Russophone eastern and southern Ukraine, however, led to protests by pro-Russian and anti-government groups in those regions. Protesters there would quickly begin to attempt to occupy RSA buildings in a similar manner.
Timeline of the occupations
23 January
Following a standoff between protesters and government forces in Kyiv on 23 January, tensions flared as anti-government forces mobilized and overtook the Regional State Administration (RSA) of a number of western Ukrainian cities, with some local governors being forced to file letters of resignation. By the afternoon, the administrations of Lviv, Rivne, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyi Oblasts were also in the hands of anti-government protesters.
In Lviv, around 2,000 protesters stormed the RSA building shouting "Revolution!" Governor Oleg Salo, a presidential appointee, signed a letter of resignation as a result of the takeover. The mayor of Lviv, in response, declared that none of the 'Black Thursday' laws would ever apply on the territory of Lviv. Ternopil city council denounced the 'Black Thursday' laws and demanded they be repealed. Activists in Khmelnytskyi erected barricades and surrounded the Khmelnytskyi Oblast RSA building. As a result, the Khmelnytskyi city council issued a series of demands including snap elections and the dissolution of the Berkut. Cherkasy RSA was also occupied when thousands of protestors stormed the building but were later expelled by police. By the end of 23 January, Lviv, Ternopil, Rivne, and Khmelnytskyi remained in the control of anti-government forces. In addition, a number of local administrations were blockaded but not physically overtaken, including those of Sumy, Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, Poltava, and Zhytomyr.
Prime Minister Azarov called the occupying force not a part of the political opposition, but rather a rebellion, and president Yanukovych condemned the takeover of public buildings. Counter to the anti-government sentiment, the administration of Crimea rejected calls for a snap election and encouraged Crimeans to rebuff any attempts to seize power by the opposition.
24 January Ivano-Frankivsk was overtaken on the second day of opposition pressure while, according to some, Governor Chudnov escaped; meanwhile in Lutsk, 5,000 opposition members surrounded the administration building, and Volyn Oblast Governor Kilmchuk momentarily kneeled before protesters pleading with them to disperse peacefully. Ceding to protestors' demands, Governor Kilmchuk and Councillor Voitovych resigned. The RSA of Chernivtsi was stormed and occupied by thousands of protestors who forced Governor Mykhailo Papiev to tender his resignation. Lutsk and Uzhhorod's administrations were blockaded, in addition to standing blockades in Poltava, Vinnytsia, and Zhytomyr. Uzhhorod Governor Oleksandr Ledida's ranch was burned down in a suspected arson attack. Uzhhorod protesters dispersed for the evening with intent to reconvene the next day. In response police fortified the RSAs in Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolayiv, and Zhytomyr. By 11 p.m., the regional state administration of Sumy was breached and occupied, but officials refused to capitulate.
25 January Protesters first seized the RSA of Vinnytsia; seven police officers were injured in the assault which drew over 1,000 opposition supporters, but the remainder of police stood down peacefully to the cheers of protesters; governor Ivan Movchan not resigned. Protesters managed to occupy the RSA building in Chernihiv, demanding the resignation of the governor. Later that day, protesters occupied the chamber of the RSA in Poltava as 2,000 protesters overwhelmed 400 police, forming an impromptu parliament named Nationalna Rada. Uzhhorod was blockaded by protesters, who were split between pro-government and anti-government factions. In Sumy, over 5,000 citizens protested in front of the RSA building but did not attempt to take it. 150 Kherson Residents block local regional state administration. Also on 25 January, regional lawmakers in Lviv voted to establish a parallel government. Mykolayiv was occupied by Party of Regions members, with the interior barricaded; opposition leaders were not allowed to enter.
26 January A notable shift occurred in the country's east, with BBC News suggesting, "[U]nrest is spreading further into the country's east, which has traditionally had closer ties with Russia and is President Viktor Yanukovych's support base". Protesters in Zaporizhia threatened to seize the RSA, demanding the resignation of the governor. Governor Oleksandr Peklushenko emerged to announce that only "cowards and traitors" resign and vowed to retain his Party of Regions membership card "until the day I die" before disappearing back inside. (He indeed died in mysterious circumstances in March 2015). By 2 p.m., the crowd grew to 10,000 and attempted to storm the RSA against hundreds of police guarding the entrance; at least five protesters were injured as police violently dispersed the crowd using rubber bullets and batons, with the help of plain-clothed titushky wearing white armbands; over 200 were arrested. Up to 2,000 marched on the RSA in Odesa, but were repelled by pro-government supporters and municipal barricades. In Sumy, protesters occupied the city's council building with a Batkivshchyna MP taking leadership; elsewhere, a crackdown by police occurred on protesters in the city. The first floor of the Sumy RSA was occupied but police held the remainder in the standoff; the exter Activists in Chernihiv set up a barricade, fortifying the regional administration building. 500 protesters picketed the entrance to the Mykolayiv RSA; there was suspicion that titushky enforcements were stationed inside. 50 members of the right-wing group Right Sector attempted to seize the building, but were dissuaded by the peaceful protesters. 3,000 attempted to capture the RSA in Dnipropetrovsk and were met by over 200 police; 37 were arrested. The conflict led to instances of rioting, Titushky violently beat protesters, whom they hunted down in the streets; they also wore identifiable yellow arm bands. Dnipropetrovsk Governor Kolesnikov called the protesters 'extreme radical thugs from other regions'. There were also mass demonstrations in Kirovohrad but the RSA was guarded by a heavy police presence; the leaders of the local UDAR and Svoboda parties were raided and arrested in their homes. In Kremenchuk (Poltava Oblast), protesters attempted to seize the city council. Some 2,000 people gathered for a people's assembly in Cherkasy, south-east of Kyiv; the crowd voted for the creation of a People's Rada and gave the local governor 24 hours to resign from his post. Some managed to break windows and breach the building. One-thousand protesters in Kyiv advanced on the RSA in the capital, forming nearby but not assaulting the building. Zhytomyr remained in a standoff.
27 January
At 12:20 a.m. on the 27th, a blockade in Cherkasy was re-established, only for police forces to later break it, arresting twelve citizens; foreign journalists reporting on the scene were beaten by Berkut troops. Another attempt was made on Dnipropetrovsk early 27 January, but was repelled. Police announced on the 27th plans to re-take Chernihiv's regional administration, but instead, protesters were able to come and go within the administration without any fight or resistance from police. Uzhhorod remained in a standoff, but not blocked due to the police presence. Eleven citizens were arrested in connection with the three-day blockade of Sumy's RSA following a late night dispersal where 300 internal troops beat protesters. The tactics used by police were denounced by the mayor of the city.
Mykolayiv remained barricaded from the inside with police officers stationed there, and doors remained barred to all opposition politicians, but not members of the Party of Regions. In Zhytomyr, the RSA remained barricaded from indoors by police, preventing even journalists from entering. Night Wolves bikers from Russia secured the RSA in Sevastopol. Patrols were also set up in Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Simferopol.
28 January Activists in Lviv announced they would partially vacate the RSA to allow local officials to work, but keep up barricades; infighting ensued between activists and members of Svoboda over control of the building, which remained occupied. Protesters occupying the RSA in Chernihiv agreed to withdraw from the building after deputies agreed to support the demands of the opposition; a statement was made by both opposition and ruling government politicians supporting the removal of the anti-protest laws and amnesty for Euromaidan activists and political prisoners. Thousands rallied and besieged the RSA in Uzhhorod, which was barricaded by police from the interior. Without taking the building, a People's Rada was democratically established by the Zakarpattia Regional Council, supporting the opposition. Khmenlytskyi was further barricaded by opposition members to defend it from police.
More than 2,000 public sector employees in Dnipropetrovsk declared an indefinite rally was being held near the RSA in support of the government. Meanwhile, the RSA was surrounded in barbed wire, and windows and fences surrounding the perimeter were covered in grease to stop protesters from re-attempting to take the building. In Kherson, metal grilles were installed on the windows. Odesa fortified their RSA with concrete blocks so as to prevent any entry. On social networks, Party of Regions supporters attempted to spread mass hysteria in Mykolayiv by spreading false information of the city being under attack; only 60 supporters were found outside the RSA and no attempt to seize the building occurred. Sumy was barricaded by police and provincial and city council members were forced to convene elsewhere.
29 January The RSA in Lviv was vacated except for the second floor, where the governor's office is located. The barricade in front of the Uzhhorod RSA was fully lifted from both sides, with security forces leaving and protesters peacefully convening, not impeding state workers. Several hundred protesters blocked the entrance to the Zhytomyr RSA in the morning. Pro-government supporters also arrived and changed, "Fascists will not pass;" crowds dispersed by 2:30 p.m.