KYIV, UKRAINE—It was one of those events that simply appeared and disappeared during the bloody, swift-moving events of Ukraine in the winter revolution of 2014.

Canada’s embassy in Kyiv was used as a haven for several days by anti-government protesters during the uprising that toppled the regime of former president Viktor Yanukovych.

The Harper government never fully acknowledged — during the upheaval or since — the depth and extent of the security breach, which has had far-reaching implications on how Canadians are perceived in the region.

The Canadian Press has spent months piecing together the events surrounding the extraordinary incident, which started on Feb. 18, 2014, and occurred at the height of the violent crackdown against pro-European protesters.

It began, according to several sources in Kyiv and Ottawa, when one of the protesters being chased by riot police waved a Canadian passport at embassy security. Once the door was open, the individual was quickly followed by other demonstrators armed with sticks and paving stones.

Roman , the current Canadian ambassador in Kyiv, confirmed the account in a recent interview with The Canadian Press.

“I understand there was a Canadian passport holder associated in some way with the group,” said , who replaced Troy Lulashnyk as ambassador in Kyiv last year.

He acknowledged the protesters were camped in the main lobby for at least a week, which is something neither Foreign Affairs nor the Harper government has ever publicly stated.

Waschek also suggested no harm came of it.

“From what I was told, it was several days and they left flowers on departure,” he said.

A host of security improvements were made in the aftermath, but that opening of the doors was “a gesture designed to react and to reach out to the people suffering in the turmoil,” Waschek said.

But some of Canada’s European allies, speaking on background because the subject is sensitive, said the fact that protesters were allowed to stay for so long and operate freely made it appear Canada was an active participant in regime change and not just lending morale support.

That was certainly the perception of Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, national guard and intelligence services.

Two ministry officials with knowledge of the case, who agreed to meet as long as their identities were not revealed, said a criminal investigation was opened into the actions of the protesters but was quietly dropped after Yanukovych fled to Russia.

They described an extraordinary scene of chaos and violence outside the embassy, which is in the heart of city next to the Maidan square.

“There wasn’t much of an obstacle for them to get in, not much security,” said one official. “Canada was sympathizing with the protesters, at the time, more than the government.”

The wounded were treated in the lobby on the night of Feb. 18 and they were transferred to hospital by ambulance amid the violence. The transfer involved a minivan stolen by protesters, according to the officials.

It was later found burned, something Ottawa hasn’t acknowledged, they said.

“There was no public statement from the Canadian side about this, and it’s really interesting what grounds they would use not to say something,” said the second official.

Layers of intrigue obscure surround the occupation, which was first reported by Russian media as an attack on the embassy by pro-Russian groups.

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A spokesman for then-foreign affairs minister John Baird acknowledged, on the day itself that protesters were in the reception area of the building; they had taken “shelter,” and they were “peaceful and have not caused any damage or harm to staff.”

After the initial report, there was silence. The embassy was closed and remained so throughout the tumultuous events that culminated with Yanukovych fleeing to Russia on Feb. 22.

How the protesters got in and what happened during their stay was never fully explained by the Harper government, which — according to sources in Ottawa — was seized with how to respond and what options there might be to end the occupation.

In the end, a decision was made “at the highest levels” to let events play-out.

If you talk to ordinary people here, academics or even Ukraine’s charge d’affaires in Ottawa, the fact Canada pushed the envelope isn’t surprising. They see it as a natural extension of the Harper government’s bullish rhetoric, and in fact something they’ve come to expect.

“Generally speaking in Ukrainian public opinion, as well in the Ukraine government of that time, there was a common understanding that Canadian sympathies are on the side of the protesters, pro-European, pro-democratic,” Marko Shevchenko said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press.

Dominque Arel, a noted expert on Ukraine at the University of Ottawa, agreed and said the perception that Canada was more than a disinterested bystander was formed long before the Maidan protests, which erupted in the fall of 2013, turned violent.

Perhaps reinforcing that rebel image, at least one local embassy staffer was targeted for her attendance at anti-government rallies and online blogging that was critical of Yanukovych.

Inna Tsarkova, who was part of a group called AutoMaidan which carried out mobile protests around Kyiv, had her car torched and she faced traffic violation charges in December 2013. She declined to speak about her experience, but as the local spokeswoman for the embassy her treatment fit with a pattern of official intimidation at the time, which targeted journalists and other high-profile figures.

There is no prohibition on locally hired embassy staff participating in political movements.

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