The goals of this "revolution" come into focus...
Saturday, February 22
14:17 GMT
Ukraine's armed forces cannot and will not be involved in political conflict, the Ministry of Defense has stated.14:06 GMT
"Units of the armed forces of Ukraine are located in places of permanent deployment and perform scheduled tasks," the statement published on the Ministry's webpage reads.
"Armed forces are faithful to their constitutional duty and cannot be dragged into an internal political conflict," the Chief of General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said. "Now I am fully controlling the situation in the Armed forces of Ukraine."
Yanukovich has accused the opposition of staging a coup d'etat and has no plans to resign, according to advisor Anna German, a Party of Regions deputy, who was interviewed by UNIAN news agency.13:48 GMT
Party of Regions deputy Vadim Kolesnichenko has blamed "foreign agents" for the unfolding events.13:47 GMT
"The situation in Kiev has taken years to prepare. Foreign agents of influence have spent over $10 billion in recent years to execute this coup. The money has been channeled into so-called non-governmental organizations," Kolesnichenko told the ITAR-TASS news agency.
Opposition deputies claim they have received verbal assurances from Yanukovich that he will resign.13:46 GMT
"We have received a verbal promise from Yanukovich that he will step down. Now, we are waiting for written confirmation," said Nikolay Kerinchuk from Yulia Tymoshenko's Fatherland party.
Presidential advisor, Anna German, who represents the Party of Regions in the Rada, says that Yanukovich has not resigned.12:54 GMT
"[Acting parliament speaker] Aleksandr Turchinov did phone the president and ask him to issue a statement about his resignation, but the president said that he had already made a different statement," German told the media in Kharkov.
She called the rumors of Yanukovich's impending resignation "an attempt to seize power."
CORRECTION: Yulia Timoshenko has not been freed. Earlier confirmation came from the AP, citing the ex-PM's spokesperson. The agency has since retracted the news.
Comment: But we all know what US-owned AP is up to here, right?
By proclaiming 'facts' and repeating them often enough throughout international media networks, they rile up locals and Western observers alike, thus putting tremendous psychological pressure on the incumbent leadership to actually step down and thereby make it a fact.
12:16 GMT
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko's freedom has now been officially confirmed by the AP, citing the ex-head of government's spokesman.12:15 GMT
The decision was made earlier in the weekend, with 322 of 331 MPs in favor. The "new format", or, the way the parliament has been functioning ever since the president's whereabouts have become a mystery, allows for the passing of such acts without Yanukovich's signature, the Rada claims, according to RIA Novosti.
Two buses which departed from Lviv carrying activists on Friday, arrived in Kiev on Saturday morning, following a nine hour journey.12:01 GMT
The trip to the Ukrainian capital was relatively uninterrupted, even though the busses passed through several checkpoints. Once inside Kiev, the bus was stopped about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from Independence Square.
Activists marched towards the square and had their names, year of birth and blood group noted at a barricade. They then made their way to their temporary accommodation near Independence Square.
The Ukrainian Rada has ruled that freeing the former PM Yulia Timoshenko from prison will be done swiftly, in accordance with "international duties," Itar-Tass quoted the parliament as saying.11:47 GMT
The vote was 233 in favor of the decision.
The Supreme Rada has named Arsen Avakov the acting head of the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine, Itar-Tass reports.
© RIA Novosti / Chekachkov IgorArsen Avakov
The prez is showing how weak and inept he is, corrupt yes, they all are, just wait till the next batch gets in and wants to fill their pockets full of goodies. Ukraine seems to be on repeat cycle, like going down a drain, faster and faster with each cycle. The Western 'divide and conquer' routine is so obvious in this example that it's ridiculous, yet the students of the revolution still seem to be failing the tests. As the song goes, "When will they ever learn... when will they ever learn?'
In the meantime, 'Play it again, Sam'.... and if Putin needs to fullfill treaty obligations and secure their pipeline, then might as well wait until after the closing ceremonies at Sochi... why wreck the weekend?