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→Investigation
====Investigation====
====Investigation====
The official investigation by the coup regime was fabricated and stonewalled.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKMoq61IN02VsItd-uIZKtJKrPxA4z1Q8</ref> The forensic investigations which were made public at the Maidan massacre trial revealed that on February 20, 2014 the absolute majority of the protesters were shot from side and back directions and from top to bottom directions, while videos and photos of the massacre showed them facing the Berkut special police force on the same ground level. In January 2015, a forensic ballistic examination conducted upon the request of prosecution concluded that bullets extracted from killed protesters did not match the bullet samples from any Kalashnikov assault rifle which members of the Berkut special police force were then armed. The findings of this computer-based ballistic examination and results of the other 40 ballistic examinations were reversed in a couple of ballistic examinations conducted manually in the very end of the investigation. Such unexplained reversals which contradicted other evidence, such as testimonies of wounded protesters and results of forensic medical examinations, suggested that the findings of the new examinations of bullets were unreliable and likely falsified. The forensic ballistic examinations also found that many protesters were killed on February 18–20 by hunting pellets and expanding hunting bullets, in particular, with caliber that did not match calibers of weapons used by the special police company, whose members were charged with killings these protesters.<ref> Katchanovski</ref>
The official investigation by the coup regime was fabricated and stonewalled.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKMoq61IN02VsItd-uIZKtJKrPxA4z1Q8</ref> The forensic investigations which were made public at the Maidan massacre trial revealed that on February 20, 2014 the absolute majority of the protesters were shot from side and back directions and from top to bottom directions, while videos and photos of the massacre showed them facing the Berkut special police force on the same ground level. In January 2015, a forensic ballistic examination conducted upon the request of prosecution concluded that bullets extracted from killed protesters did not match the bullet samples from any Kalashnikov assault rifle which members of the Berkut special police force were then armed. The findings of this computer-based ballistic examination and results of the other 40 ballistic examinations were reversed in a couple of ballistic examinations conducted manually in the very end of the investigation. Such unexplained reversals which contradicted other evidence, such as testimonies of wounded protesters and results of forensic medical examinations, suggested that the findings of the new examinations of bullets were unreliable and likely falsified. The forensic ballistic examinations also found that many protesters were killed on February 18–20 by hunting pellets and expanding hunting bullets, in particular, with caliber that did not match calibers of weapons used by the special police company, whose members were charged with killings these protesters.<ref> Katchanovski</ref>
===Yanukovych compromise agreement and flight===
On February 21, 2014, President Vikto Yanukovych signed an agreement with the leaders of the parliamentary opposition that he would not seek re-election the following February since his removal was the protesters primary demand. German Foreign Minister [[Frank-Walter Steinmeier]], Polish Foreign Minister [[Radosław Sikorski]], a head of department of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Russian observer Vladimir Lukin were witnesses. It was hoped the agreement with opposition leaders would bring ton an end the crisis situation in Ukraine.<ref>[https://www.salon.com/2014/02/25/is_the_us_backing_neo_nazis_in_ukraine_partner/ Is the US backing neo-Nazis in Ukraine?], By MAX BLUMENTHAL, FEBRUARY 25, 2014.</ref>
In the evening of the same day, on Maidan Sqaure, the Pravy Sektor rejected the agreement. Threatening an armed offensive, the extremists demanded that Viktor Yanukovych leave the presidency before 10 a.m. on the morning of the 22nd. The leader of the [[neo-fascist]] Pravy Sektor, [[Dmitri Yarosh]] claimed that his militants would continue the violent uprising until Yanukovych resigned.
Soon the security forces were withdrawn from the government quarter. This was taken advantage of by [[revolution]]ary militants, deciding not to wait for the expiration of their announced deadline. Neo-nazi [[activist]]s and participants of the [[Maidan Self-Defense]] stormed the Presidential Administration, Parliament, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. On the evening of February 21, 2022 Yanukovych, together with the heads of the Verkhovna Rada and the presidential administration – Volodymyr Rybak and Andriy Kliuyev – fearing for their personal safety fled Kiev to [[Crimea]]. Yanukovych called the overthrow a coup.
On February 27, 2014 Nuland's choice, Yatsenyuk, became prime minister. In the deal, the fascist and neo-Nazi forces, which could not poll 2% in a nationwide election, were awarded six major cabinet ministries, including the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior due to their longstanding ties with [[Western alliance|Western intelligence]] services.
On February 28, 2014 ''BBC Newsnight'' reported on the Neo-Nazi threat in new Ukraine.<ref>https://youtu.be/5SBo0akeDMY</ref> Throughout Ukraine, massacres unfolded between supporters and opponents of the U.S.-appointed [[Maidan junta]]. Oligarchic and Ukrainian nationalist elements were involved in these massacres.
===Unconstitutional impeachment===
According to the procedure of impeachment defined in Article 111 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Rada must establish a special investigatory commission to formulate charges against the president, seek evidence to justify the charges and come to conclusions about the president's guilt for the Rada to consider. To find the president guilty, at least two-thirds of Rada members must assent.
Prior to a final vote to remove the president from power, the procedure requires
*the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to review the case and certify that the constitutional procedure of investigation and consideration has been followed, and
*the Supreme Court of Ukraine to certify that the acts of which the President is accused are worthy of impeachment.
To remove the president from power, at least three-quarters of Rada members must assent.
The Rada didn't make any pretense of following this procedure. No investigatory commission was established, and the Courts were not involved.<ref>https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/david-morrison/president-yanukovych_b_7647102.html</ref> On 22 February 2014, the Rada simply passed a resolution purporting to remove Yanukovych from office in accordance with the Constitution.
The constitutionality of Yanukovych's removal from office has been questioned by constitutional experts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yanukovych's removal was unconstitutional|url=https://gpforecasts.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/yanukovychs-removal-was-unconstitutional/|website=wordpress.com|date=March 2014|access-date=}}</ref> According to Daisy Sindelar from Radio Free Europe, the impeachment may have not followed the procedure provided by the constitution: "[I]t is not clear that the hasty February 22 vote upholds constitutional guidelines, which call for a review of the case by Ukraine's Constitutional Court and a three-fourths majority vote by the Verkhovna Rada -- i.e., 338 lawmakers." The vote, as analyzed by Sindelar, had ten votes less than those required by the constitutional guidelines. The decision to remove Yanukovich was supported by 328 deputies. Article 11 maintains that a vote on impeachment must pass by two-thirds of the members, and the impeachment itself requires a vote by three-quarters of the members. In this case, the 328 out of 447 votes were about 10 votes short of three-quarters.<ref name="RadioFreeEurope">{{cite web|last=Sindelar |first=Daisy |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/was-yanukovychs-ouster-constitutional/25274346.html |title=Was Yanukovych's Ouster Constitutional? |publisher=Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty (Rferl.org) |date=23 February 2014 |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=Kyiv Post |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv/euromaidan-rallies-in-ukraine-feb-21-live-updates-337287.html |title=Parliament votes 328–0 to impeach Yanukovych on Feb. 22; sets May 25 for new election; [[Tymoshenko]] free (LIVE UPDATES, VIDEO) |date=23 February 2014 |access-date=}}</ref>
Two days later Ukraine's parliament dismissed five judges of the Constitutional Court for allegedly violating their oaths, who were then investigated for alleged malpractice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/rada-dismisses-constitutional-court-judges-appointed-from-its-quota-337523.html |title=Rada dismisses Constitutional Court judges appointed from its quota |work=Kyiv Post |date=24 February 2014 |access-date=}}</ref>
===Ukrainian collusion: 2016===
===Ukrainian collusion: 2016===