--- description: The deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said Friday that protesters who succeeded in driving him out of the capital last week only represent the "absolute... title: Ousted Ukraine Leader Vows to Keep Fighting image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6c2c3a72e641e5a/698683641eebf7fa8436f962/2014-02-28t133700z_1069786729_gm1ea2s1-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ousted Ukraine Leader Vows to Keep Fighting by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 28, 2014 1:51 PM CUT  Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich takes part in a news conference in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don February 28, 2014\. Yanukovich, appearing in public for the first time since he was ousted as Ukraine's president, said in Russia on Friday he would not give up the fight for his country's future. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS PROFILE HEADSHOT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich takes part in a news conference in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don February 28, 2014\. Yanukovich, appearing in public for the first time since he was ousted as Ukraine's president, said in Russia on Friday he would not give up the fight for his country's future. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS PROFILE HEADSHOT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)Maxim Shemetov—Reuters by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 28, 2014 1:51 PM CUT The deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said Friday that protesters who succeeded in driving him out of the capital last week only represent the “absolute minority” of the country, that he is still the country’s rightful leader, and that he’ll keep fighting for [Ukraine’s future](http://world.time.com/2014/02/27/ukraines-new-leaders-struggle-to-govern-under-the-gun/ "undefined"). Speaking from Russia in his first comments since leaving the country, Yanukovich, who has insisted he’s still the country’s legitimate leader, pushed back against the notion that he was ousted from office. “No one overthrew me,” he said. “I was forced to flee.” And he blamed the “irresponsible actions of the West” for the protests that led to his downfall. His comments came as tensions between the new Ukrainian government and Russia [escalated](http://world.time.com/2014/02/28/ukraine-russian-military-blockades-crimean-airports-and-roads/ "undefined") Friday, with Ukraine saying Russia had mounted a “military invasion” after masked men took control of airports in the country’s [Crimea](http://world.time.com/2014/02/27/crisis-in-crimea-unrest-in-ukraines-russian-stronghold/ "undefined") region. Yanukovich said he hasn’t met with Russian President Vladimir Putin since coming to Russia. “I will return to Ukraine once the conditions of my security and security of my family are secured,” he said. _\-with reporting from Simon Shuster_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/10655/ukraine-viktor-yanukovich-russia-crimea/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/10655/ukraine-viktor-yanukovich-russia-crimea/"},"headline":"Ousted Ukraine Leader Vows to Keep Fighting","datePublished":"2014-02-28T13:51:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:31:14.621Z","description":"The deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said Friday that protesters who succeeded in driving him out of the capital last week only represent the \"absolute...","url":"https://time.com/10655/ukraine-viktor-yanukovich-russia-crimea/","keywords":["Ukraine"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6c2c3a72e641e5a/698683641eebf7fa8436f962/2014-02-28t133700z_1069786729_gm1ea2s1-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6c2c3a72e641e5a/698683641eebf7fa8436f962/2014-02-28t133700z_1069786729_gm1ea2s1-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich takes part in a news conference in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don","caption":"Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich takes part in a news conference in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don","creditText":"Maxim Shemetov—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/10655/ukraine-viktor-yanukovich-russia-crimea/","name":"Ousted Ukraine Leader Vows to Keep Fighting"}}]}] ```