At the end of 213, Yanukovych refused to sign a free trade agreement with the European Union, which triggered a political crisis in Ukraine. The opposition launched a large-scale demonstration demanding that Yanukovych step down and hold an early general election.

On November 22, 213, about 3, people gathered in the Independence Square in the center of Kiev in the rain that day, waving the EU flag and some slogans to protest against the government's abandonment of the signing of the associated country agreement with the EU.

after years of negotiation, this agreement allows Ukraine to join the free trade zone with the EU as the main body and including non-euro countries such as Norway, which is a milestone in Ukraine's application for joining the EU. The two sides initialled the agreement, which was originally scheduled to be formally signed on the 29th when the EU summit was held in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The European Union previously made Ukraine's release of former Prime Minister Tymoshenko one of the conditions for signing the contact country agreement. However, the Ukrainian parliament voted again on the 21st to reject the proposal to allow Tymoshenko to go to Germany for medical treatment.

The pro-Western politician who launched the "Orange Revolution" and was jailed for abuse of power issued a statement through his lawyer on 22nd, calling on people to take to the streets to protest against the sudden change of the government's position on the issue of joining the EU.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Azarov defended the government's abandonment of the contact country agreement on 22nd, saying that it was "a difficult decision, but judging from the current domestic economic situation, it was the only feasible way". At present, the government's finances are tight, and it has to pay more than $17 billion in natural gas costs to Russia and repay $3.7 billion in debts to the International Monetary Fund and other parties.

When meeting with Ukrainian President Yanukovych on March 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin made it clear that if Ukraine signs the contact country agreement, it will "lose a lot immediately and Russia will restrict the import of Ukrainian goods"; On the contrary, if Ukraine joins the Russian-led customs union, it will "immediately gain benefits, including preferential natural gas prices."

According to the data released by the investment company Concord Capital of Ukraine, in the first nine months of 213, Ukraine's exports to the EU were US$ 14.6 billion and those to Russia were US$ 21.1 billion. Since the beginning of 213, the trade volume between Ukraine and Russia has been greatly reduced, and the Ukrainian economy has been hit hard. Azarov said that Ukraine could not afford to lose trade with Russia.