The paper angels were made by students at a school for the blind to watch over the souls of those killed in the Euromaidan uprising.
Photo: Christopher Miller (RFE/RL)
'It Was A Tragedy Then. We Have Another Tragedy Now.' Ukrainians Rue Lack Of Justice For Euromaidan Killings
KYIV -- Olha Pasko and Valentina Riklyvska shed solemn tears as they hang paper angels on a hedgerow running along Kyiv's Institutska Street, the site of a bloody and decisive confrontation exactly five years ago between pro-democracy protesters and security forces during Ukraine's Euromaidan uprising.
But the women recall the events, which cleaved the country and ousted a pro-Moscow president but also set the stage for a Russian invasion and a five-year war, as if they were yesterday.
"I was making food in the [field] kitchen to support our Maidan," Pasko, who made frequent trips from her nearby office to aid the protest effort, says of February 19, 2014.
Both women's memories are especially vivid when it comes to the heavily armed security forces opening fire on their fellow Ukrainians here, spilling their blood into the cracks between well-worn cobblestones.
A priest stands in the lobby of the Hotel Ukraine, surrounded by the bodies of Euromaidan protesters killed during clashes with riot police in Kyiv on February 20, 2014.
"Fire and smoke were everywhere," Pasko says. "It was a war."
Riklyvska can still see the limp, bleeding bodies being carried on stretchers to medical stations on Independence Square, dubbed Maidan.
"Many of them were so young," she says, gesturing toward the faces on faded makeshift memorials at spots where protesters were cut down by gunfire -- tree trunks used for cover, a barrier beside the entrance to a hotel whose lobby was transformed into an operating room, the base of a footbridge where the protesters' last barricade stood. "It's an absolute shame."
The paper angels the women are hanging were made by students at a school for the blind to be placed here to watch over their souls, they explain.
While great attention has been paid by Ukraine's civil society to those who were killed, known as the Heavenly Hundred, Pasko, Riklyvska, and many other Ukrainians feel that authorities have devoted too little attention to the question of justice.
Antigovernment protesters stand behind burning barricades during a face-off against police in Kyiv on February 20, 2014.
"It was a terrible tragedy then. And we have a terrible tragedy now," Riklyvska says. She claims that politicians prefer instead to pay lip service and simply lay flowers to the victims.
Petro Poroshenko, the post-Euromaidan president facing a tough reelection battle next month after stalling on crucial judicial reforms and failing to prosecute organizers of the Euromaidan killings, escorted European Council President Donald Tusk to the site on February 19 to pay tribute to the Heavenly Hundred.
Meanwhile, the status of the official investigation into the killings appears to be up for debate, to the chagrin of many Ukrainians.
By the end of 2018, the Prosecutor-General's Office had identified 441 suspects, most of them former law enforcement officers but also city administration officials, prosecutors, and judges, according to research by Amnesty International.
A man places flowers at the memorial to the Heavenly Hundred in Kyiv on February 20.
In all, 288 individual cases were said to have been sent to court. Fifty-two cases had already resulted in court decisions, including 48 convictions, but only nine custodial sentences were handed down, Amnesty International added. None of those given a prison sentence was a former police officer, the group said, nor had anyone ever identified as ordering or carrying out the February 20, 2014, killings been found and put on trial.
A Ukrainian court last month found the president who was in charge at the time, Viktor Yanukovych, guilty in absentia of treason and undermining Ukraine's territorial integrity when he invited Russia to intervene militarily amid the unrest. The accompanying 13-year sentence was applauded in Kyiv, but Yanukovych, who is safely residing under state protection in Russia, is unlikely to serve a day of jail time.
On February 1, Prosecutor-General Yuriy Lutsenko announced that his office had completed its probe and was ready to take the resulting cases to court.
But he was contradicted two days later by his own chief of special investigations, Serhiy Horbatiuk, who said "the investigation is not over."
"Five years is a long time to wait when it comes to justice, and for most victims who suffered at the hands of Ukrainian police, justice is still not even in sight," Colm O Cuanachain, senior director at the Office of the Secretary-General of Amnesty International, said in Kyiv on February 19. "Promises were made, strong words were said by the post-Yanukovych authorities, but time and facts speak volumes."
The Evolution Of Euromaidan
1/21Protesters hold Ukrainian and European Union flags during a rally to support European integration in central Kyiv on November 21, 2013.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
2/21A protester on Kyiv's Independence Square on November 24, 2013, the biggest protest rally in Ukraine's capital since the 2004 Orange Revolution. The opposition called the rally after President Viktor Yanukovych's government reversed a plan to sign a historic deal deepening ties with the EU, in a U-turn critics said was forced by the Kremlin.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
3/21At about 4.30 a.m. on November 30, soldiers of the Berkut riot-police unit violently dispersed Euromaidan activists who had stayed on Independence Square for the night.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
4/21The violent dispersal of protests by the Berkut sparked riots the following day in Kyiv. On December 1, protesters reoccupied the square and further clashes with the authorities and political ultimatums by the opposition ensued for the rest of the month.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
5/21Protesters clash with police during the storming of the presidential office in Kyiv during a mass opposition rally on December 1, 2013.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
6/21Euromaidan protesters gather in central Kyiv on December 8.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
7/21Pro-European protesters sleep inside Kyiv City Hall on December 7, 2013. Thousands of protesters gathered in Kyiv to demand the government's resignation and early elections. They blocked the cabinet of ministers' building and occupied a labor-union building and the city administration, where they had hoisted the EU flag a day earlier.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
8/21People surround a statue of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin, which was toppled by protesters during a rally organized by supporters of EU integration in Kyiv on December 8, 2013.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
9/21Pro-European protesters stand on a barricade built to block the way to Independence Square in Kyiv on December 9.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
10/21Riot police storm a barricade held by protesters on Independence Square in Kyiv late on December 11, 2013. The demonstrators defiantly refused to leave and resisted the police in a tense standoff. Berkut riot police and Interior Ministry special forces moved against the protesters at around 2 a.m. in a move that prompted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to express "disgust" over the crackdown.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
11/21Ukrainian opposition leaders Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Vitali Klitschko speak to protesters in Independence Square on December 29, 2013.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
12/21Pro-European protesters take part in New Year celebrations on Independence Square in central Kyiv on January 1, 2014.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
13/21The Ukrainian parliament votes for antiprotest laws, which themselves sparked a fresh wave of protests on January 16, 2014.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
14/21Pro-EU protesters clash with Ukrainian riot police during a rally near government administration buildings in Kyiv on January 19, 2014. Protesters attacked riot police with sticks and tried to overturn a bus blocking their path to parliament, as up to 100,000 Ukrainians massed in defiance of sweeping new laws aimed at stamping out antigovernment demonstrations.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
15/21Protesters clash with riot police in downtown Kyiv on January 22, 2014.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
16/21People gather at the the site of clashes between pro-European protesters and riot police in Kyiv on January 23.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
17/21Tents of antigovernment protesters are seen in Independence Square in temperatures of around minus 19 degrees Celsius in central Kyiv on January 30.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
18/21A still photo from a video by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service shows Ukrainian security personnel with a Kalashnikov assault rifle and sniper rifle in a confrontation with protesters in Kyiv on February 20, 2014. Dozens of protesters are believed to have been killed by gunfire on this day.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
19/21Protesters stand behind burning barricades during a face-off against police in Kyiv on February 20.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
20/21Protesters catch fire as they stand behind burning barricades during clashes with police in Kyiv on February 20. Numbers vary, but Euromaidan activists say around 100 protesters were killed in total during the antigovernment protests.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
21/21Pictures of people who were killed during the winter protests are attached to a bridge as municipal workers clean up a barricade on Independence Square in Kyiv on August 11, 2014. The downtown area of the Ukrainian capital was reopened after citizens had cleaned up the central streets two days previously.
Euromaidan -- the name given to the pro-European protests in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv -- started late on November 21, 2013, when up to 2,000 protesters gathered on the city's central Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). The movement, sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych's abrupt decision to abandon talks on a pact on closer relations with the European Union, started peacefully, but did not end that way. The violence started with the government's crackdown on protesters overnight on November 30. Months later, Yanukovych would flee the country and around 100 protesters would be dead.
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He added: "Until all those responsible, including those in command, are brought to account, there can be no sense of justice."
In a symbolic move, the Ukrainian government has broken ground on a new Maidan memorial that will run the length of Institutska Street, now also known as Avenue Of The Heavenly Hundred.
Yuriy Kovalchuk, a retired teacher who protested on Independence Square in 2014 and returned to the site on February 19, says he appreciates the gesture but it does not compensate for the lack of accountability over the deaths of his friends and fellow protesters.
"A hundred people paid with their lives...They gave Ukraine everything they had," he says, running his hand over his face. Gesturing to a rendering of the new memorial and two stones marking what will be its entrance, he adds: "They're only given some rocks to remember them."
