Friday, February 21, 2014, 3.57 pm
Photo and video added at 12.40 pm
Source: Ukrainska Pravda
On the night of February 21, in downtown Zhytomyr, on Soborna Square, activists of the Right Sector movement and regular townsfolk toppled a monument to Lenin.
The attack on the monument started after 10 pm. First, they threw Molotov cocktails and poured gasoline over it. Continue reading
So many times in the last few months, there have been calls for a general strike: no one goes to work as another way of making the protest felt by the government.
But hardworking Kyivans didn’t announce a strike, instead managing to fit in both a full work day and saving the world at Maidan.
And so now the government, by shutting down the metro in the Ukrainian capital with a population of three million, is itself ensuring that the general strike does happen. Because, excuse me, Mr. Big walked home on foot from Sevastopolska Square to Heroiv Dnipra. Six hours. At least it was above freezing and the snow had melted.
The city was completely jammed with traffic and taxis simply turned down callers, or only responded to curbside hails for completely insane prices. The government said that it won’t resume metro services “while there are riots in the city.” Continue reading
His story is unique and complicated, because he is neither a professional physician nor even a Maidan volunteer. Pavlo is a web designer from Lutsk. He arrived in Kyiv on 12 December. Pavlo has a very unusual background: he is a leader of the Lutsk castle historical reenactment team and the best archer in Western Ukraine. However, right here and now he is more into saving lives than shooting. He was a lifeguard in the Russian Emergency Ministry for more than six years and so, with his good experience in field surgery treatment, he believes that Maidan is the only place for him now. He has no fear of blood and is extremely stress-proof.
As Pavlo tells it, he joined the Second Self-Defense Sotnya [a special name for the self-defense division] because has already had friends there.
“On 19 January,” he said, “during the peaceful demonstration, medical services were operating only within Maidan’s perimeter. So there were only two medical workers in the whole convoy when the clashes began. However, physicians began fetching up to the hot zone within half an hour. We did it at our own risk, because had been ordered to step back. The doctors did not obey the order. We thought, ‘We shall stay as long as at least one person remains here.’ First, we organized an ambulance in the archway at Hrushevskiy 4. I was giving instructions to make corridors so the wounded could be evacuated to a safer place. A crowd remains a crowd. When it became clear that things would last for a long while, we occupied the ground floor of the building, as it was impossible to bandage the wounded outside in the cold and under fire. On 22 January, during the attacks, the first aid point’s doors were closed in order to keep Berkut from entering our health center. We put a large white flag with the Red Cross on the door, and some medic T-shirts too. In fact, what was happening inside could be seen clearly through the glass doors. Nevertheless, they smashed the windows and started throwing flashbangs inside. The explosions are much louder inside, you know. But we were lucky to escape and evacuate the wounded through the back exit to October Palace. We took the wounded and the most essential medical instruments. The surgical instruments, which were almost priceless at the moment, we had to leave behind. When we came back, nothing was left. Everything was smashed and broken. I still can’t understand why and for what purpose they did it.
“I will never forget that Monday night, 2 am and nobody minding the gas. Me and my colleague, another physician, were constantly watching for wounded to carry out or to run for help. So, we were just standing there waiting and smoking. Suddenly some grandma, about 70 years old maybe, comes up to us and says, ‘What are you doing, kids? You’re doctors, you should know smoking is dangerous’–and all under that smoke, gas and ashes from the burnt buses . . . that was fun. Anyhow, we had to persuade this elderly woman to leave for a safer place.
“Four sotnyas [divisions] provide the perimeter guard at the barricades, while inside the scene, underground crosswalk control, the House of Trade Unions, and Kyiv City Administration are on us. People have been coming from the very beginning and more divisions have been organized; I cannot even tell you how many there are now. The second sotnya is the toughest of them all. When we kicked the internal forces away from Ukrainskiy Dim and the assignment started, they offered to let us relocate at least some of the fighters there because it was warm and dry there with the additional infrastructure provided. The answer was ‘Oh no, how could we just… go away? No, we’re going to stay here in our tent, well, we’ll light the burzhuyka [a kind of DIY stove usually meant for field use], freeze a bit but we’re not leaving.’ My place is here. Sometimes there’s a longing to go home, but maybe just for a day. When it’s quiet, I feel I’d like just to come meet my friends and kick back. Sure, stitching wounds and carrying the dead [Pavlo helped to carry Nigoyan and Zhyznevsky to the first-aid points] is no fun. Maybe I would like to go back home but though it may sound pathetic, I feel that my duty is to lend my experience for Maidan’s sake, for the rightful cause. Sometimes I think, well, maybe it would be better for me to be on guard or at the frontline, to show these titushki a thing or two. But there are enough people to do that. I am here just doing what I have to do. When the battles at Hrushevskiy Street started, for many people it was the sign of the war beginning. But the war has actually never ceased, though maybe not every story is told. Why? Because there are always titushki and provocateurs around, because there are stories of somebody caught by police when going to his friend’s for a shower. As you may know, there are very clear reasons why we prefer not to address the official hospitals and try to organize everything right here.
“The fighters of the sotnyas have already become my family. We did not know each other before, but the feeling of fraternity is so intense, just as if we grew up side by side. This tent, sometimes wet and cold and crowded, is not a home yet, but it has become something very important, very communal for all of us.
“People invite each other over; there is a common joke that we may be on the road for another couple of years. Yet no one says ‘if we win.’ ‘When we win’ is the only answer. Something like this: ‘So, when we win, come to my place, you’re welcome.’ Nobody knows when it’s going to be, but nobody loses faith. All of us believe in victory, it’s 100%.”
Russian state TV channel Russia-24 has got itself into a fix. After giving their comments on the situation in Crimea, the channel’s editors asked an MP of the Verkhovna Rada of the Crimean Republic for an interview. The hitch: they chose the wrong MP! Leonid Pilunskiy is an opposition MP, which only came to light after he had begun commenting on the air.
Check out the video below to see what happened next. It took only one and a half minutes for someone to realize what a mistake they had made in inviting Mr. Pilunskiy to comment, but it was more than enough time to have a dazzling effect.
Leonid Pilunskiy is a deputy head of the Kurultai-Rukh faction. In addition to being a member of the Crimean parliament, he is a human rights activist and heads the Petro Hryhorenko Crimean Center for Human Rights.
Video subtitles: Continue reading
Serhiy Leshchenko, Ukrainska Pravda
20 February 2014
MPs from the Party of Regions have a place to flee in case civil war breaks out in Ukraine. For some of them, the US could become a haven.
In recent days, we have been able to identify at least two addresses of the relatives of senior Party of Regions members in the US.
Serhiy Kluyev, Party of Regions MP and chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee for Cooperation with the US Congress, and his brother Andrey Kluyev, Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, act jointly and bear responsibility for the bloodshed in Ukraine.
Serhiy Kluyev’s daughter Olga has changed her last name to Ertefay after marriage. She resides in Florida at:
1200 Gulf Blvd, Apt 102
Clearwater Beach, FL 33767
Jan 27, 10:31
Bimba Productions reports on hunting the so-called titushki and on the hottest events on Hrushevskiy Street. They ask the protesters to reflect on the current events in the country and what they think should be done next.
Documentarians have told the INSIDER why they are doing it and why one should not be afraid.
Film director and social artist #Sociopath Claudia Bukevych works on this project with the photographer Anrie Moss.
All the people involved in this project are professionals working in media industry. They have experience with filming, editing, and interviewing.
“We are the warriors of the informational front: someone builds the barricades, someone takes part in the clashes, and someone works on the ideology. We talk to people who have something to say and make sure they are heard by those who still haven’t woken up. In this way, we encourage people to make a conscious choice.
Currently there are only three people working on the project. Some videos they film themselves; others are provided by other journalists and documentarians. They are currently actively looking for other volunteers, especially those who can film in the regions. Their aim is to create a fuller and a more objective picture of the current situation in Ukraine.
Let’s Riot
If you cannot see the subtitles, please press “Captions”
The first short film produced, “Let’s Riot.” is dedicated to the events that took place on the 19th of December. “If we don’t succeed, we’ll die”, says one of the protesters succinctly. This video is about determination and irreversibility. Documents explain that it’s the civil responsibility that makes people dedicate themselves to such a difficult case. “It’s obviously difficult to film on the front, but one shouldn’t be afraid because the fear means that the system wins”. Continue reading
Feb 19, 15:19
Hennadiy Hennadiyovych Moskal, Ukrainian politician, lawyer, MP, Lieutenant-general of police, and Batkivshchyna party member, named the parties responsible for the attacks on Maidan from the Security Service of Ukraine and the Ministry of Internal Affairs
The Security Service (SUB) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) implemented two special operations at Maidan on Tuesday, 18 February, which were launched by Acting Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko and Deputy Head of the Security Service Vladimir Totskiy.
According to Moskal’s press service, this was reported by the chairman of the Parliamentary Provisional Investigatory Commission on the Actions of Security Forces.
According to Moskal, the purpose of Tuesday’s operations–Surge by the MIA and Boomerang by the SUB–was to clean up Maidan, Ukrainian House, the House of Trade Unions, and the October Palace. Continue reading
Feb 20, 20:08
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) sent 1500 paratroopers and 400 Marines and special ops troops to Kyiv to carry out an anti-terrorist operation.
This was reported by Artem Shevchenko, journalist and host of TVi channel’s program “Znak oklyku!” on his Facebook page.
“My trusted source at the General Staff of Ukrainian Armed Forces reports: ‘Armed forces are moving on Kyiv: 1500 paratroopers, 400 Marines and special operations troops. They have been mobilized by order of the SBU to carry out an anti-terrorist operation. Very likely, the dispersal of protesters will take place soon. The officers are staff lieutenants and contractors. The mood is so-so. Approximately 70% of them definitely do not want to fight the people.’
“PS. The troops mentioned include the 25th Airborne Division, the 1st Marine Division, the 831st Anti-Sabotage Platoon, and the 73rd naval special operations center,” he wrote.
In addition, the journalist has published a video showing the type of bullets being shot at people. These bullets easily penetrate shields and bulletproof vests.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JREuuaERXas
February 20, 2014, 1:48 PM.
(The video is for audiences aged 18 and older)
Elise.com.ua is hosting video proof that on Thursday, 20 February, during the exit of law enforcement troops from Instytutska Street, government snipers were shooting at people in Maidan. This can be seen in videos shot by journalist Ihor Zakharchenko and originally posted by Radio Svoboda.
Today at around 9 AM, activists retook positions that were lost on 18 February. Dozens of protesters perished in the clashes.
Oleksandr Suhonyako, the chairman of the Association of Ukrainian Banks, addresses the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych in an open letter.
Image by Interfax-Ukraine
Viktor!
There are various reasons for addressing you informally. First, I cite the fact that we are the same age. Second, my wealth affords me that privilege, for I, thank God, am much wealthier than you. Let me explain: my physical needs are met, and I am not concerned with their enlargement.
Why am I writing? I’ve had enough for a long time, as have all citizens.
Euromaidan PR 