As Russian forces continue to withdraw from the Ukrainian capital area, there is once again a sense of peace in the heart of Kyiv, otherwise known as Independence Square.
“The city, which has been under attack for the past six weeks, is starting to come out of that a little bit as Russian forces have now been moved out of the city,” said CTV National News Chief International Correspondent Paul Workman. said. , standing in the middle of Independence Square.
It was in Independence Square where the seeds of Russian aggression against Ukraine were first planted more than eight years ago, during the Euromaidan protests.
In November 2013, after then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych canceled an agreement with the European Union to support closer economic ties with Russia, a wave of protests swept through Ukraine. Ukrainian protesters gathered in Independence Square and other city squares around the country demanding the impeachment of Yanukovych and closer ties with the EU.
These protests flared up in February 2014, when hundreds of thousands of protesters in Independence Square clashed fatally with riot police in what was dubbed the “Revolution of Dignity”. “. In the end, the Ukrainian parliament impeached Yanukovych and the ousted president fled to Russia, decrying his removal as a “coup”.
But in the weeks following the Revolution of Dignity, Russian troops entered Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and took over the regional parliament. Russian-backed separatist fighters also took control of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
“Will (Russian forces) regroup and try to retake Kyiv at some point? Many people fear that. I have talked to a lot of people who say the risk is not over.” Workman said.
“War continues in the south and east. But for now, Kyiv feels as if everyone can relax.”
Watch the full video with National News Chief International Correspondent Correspondent Correspondent Paul Workman at the top of the article.
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