Under the control and in the presence of US diplomats, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine carried out a coup d’état, on 22 and 23 February 2014.

The Parliament first took note of the forced resignation of its president and appointed the former head of the Ukraine Security Service, Oleksandr Turchynov, in his place.

Then, 328 MPs out of 450 repealed the Constitution, substituting it with that of 2004 [1], that is to say without a referendum and in an emergency situation, thereby contravening Articles 156 and 157 of the Constitution.

In the process, the MPs deposed the president of the republic, Viktor Yanukovych, without complying with the impeachment procedure and without review by the Constitutional Court, in other words in violation of Article 111 of the Constitution.

They voted the release of former Prime Minister and billionaire Yulia Tymoshenko sentenced to 7 years in prison for abuse of power, and whose attorney is Oleksandr Turchinov.

Finally, the next day they proclaimed Oleksandr Turchinov acting president, in breach of Article 112 of the Constitution.

Overstepping his interim powers, "president" Turchinov appointed his friend Valentin Nalivaytchenko head of the security service, and then called for a presidential election on May 25 for which Yulia Tymoshenko should be a candidate.

The coup was immediately hailed as a "return to democracy" (sic) by the Western powers .

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CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE
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[1] In 2004, the Constitution was radically amended to transform the parliamentary system into a presidential system like in the United States.