ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia — In a rare public appearance, Viktor F. Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine, said Friday that he regrets he did not impose martial law and order troops to disperse the mass protests that toppled his government and forced him into exile in Russia.

“My main mistake was that I was not resolute enough to sign an order,” Mr. Yanukovych told dozens of journalists at a news conference. “But even today, I would not sign this order because Ukraine was divided then and that would unleash a civil war.”

The protests began late in 2013 when Mr. Yanukovych’s government announced that it was suspending its plans to sign a trade deal with the European Union and that it would instead seek closer economic ties with Russia.

The demonstrations, centered in Maidan Square in Kiev, grew in size and intensity, attracting international attention. But it was the shooting of scores of protesters in February 2014 as they tried to enter the government district that drew widespread condemnation and led many of Mr.Yanukovych’s political allies to abandon him. Security forces, after hearing that they would be blamed for the shootings and that protesters had seized hundreds of guns, left the capital.