List of people killed during Euromaidan

This is a list of people killed during the February 2014 Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, part of the wider Euromaidan movement, and the early phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The list includes 130 identified individuals from both sides of the conflict who died during the events, including 18 police officers who were killed by the protesters. The majority of those killed were civilians who supported the revolution.

Ukrainian sources often refer to the killed protesters as the Heavenly Hundred ( uk, Небесна сотня, ''Nebesna sotnya''; (it may also be translated as "Heavenly Company"), Russian: Небесная сотня, ''Nebesnaya sotnya'').
On 21 February 2014, Verkhovna Rada recognized the perished protesters of Euromaidan as victims. On 21 November 2014 by Petro Poroshenko's decree the perished Ukrainian protesters of Euromaidan were posthumously awarded the Hero of Ukraine title.
Three non-Ukrainian citizens killed in the Euromaidan events were each posthumously awarded the title '' Knight of the Order of the Heaven's Hundred Heroes''.
Since 2015 "the Day of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes" is celebrated on 20 February to commemorate the deaths.February 20 to be commemorated as Heavenly Hundred Heroes Day– decree
Interfax-Ukraine (12.02.2015)

Description

The first deaths occurred on Unity Day, 22 January 2014, during riots on Hrushevskoho Street in Kyiv, where three Euromaidan activists were shot dead. On the same day, the dead body of another Euromaidan activist Yuriy Verbytsky was found on the outskirts of the city; he had been kidnapped a day before with Ihor Lutsenko, who was released. These were the first victims to die in demonstrations in Ukraine since it gained national independence in 1991. The deaths caused widespread protests across the country. On 23 January 2014, then Prime Minister Mykola Azarov in an interview with BBC said that police had not been issued firearms, and said no police officers were located on the rooftops around the protest area. He stated that the shooting of protesters was a provocation by extremist forces aimed at escalating violence. Party of Regions MP Arsen Klinchayev stated during a memorial service in Luhansk for those killed on 22 January by police, "These people were against the government. Nobody has the right to use physical force against police officers. And then they have their sticks, then stones, then something else. The police have the right to defend their lives. So I think it's right that these four people were killed. Moreover, I believe that you need to be stricter."

Five more deaths in connection with Euromaidan occurred between 25 January and 13 February.

The second active phase started February 18. After a brief truce on 19 February, the clashes renewed 20 February. According to the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, special forces ( Berkut) and Interior Troops snipers shot at people on Maidan and/or snipers located in nearby buildings, with the special forces firing with AK-47 assault rifles. 20 February was the bloodiest day of the clashes, with at least 21 anti-government protesters killed. The final death toll from these clashes in late February was 103 protesters and 13 police. According to the Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine Oleh Zalisko in February 2014, 67 people were killed in Kyiv's city centre, 184 sustained gunshot wounds and over 750 suffered bodily injuries (as stated on 9 December 2014). On 20 February 2014, the (then) opposition parties (Batkivshchyna, UDAR and Svoboda) released a statement that stated "To hold talks with the regime, the policies of which led to the deaths of many people, is an extremely unpleasant thing but we must do everything possible and even the impossible to prevent further bloodshed".

At least 17 people died from previously received wounds and injuries since then.

On 21 February 2014, Maidan participants wished last farewell to the perished protesters who they named the Heavenly Hundred. During the event, a mourning Lemko song "A duck floats on the Tysa..." was heard ( uk, «Плине кача по Тисині…»).

On 24 February 2014, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) decided to propose that the next Ukrainian president award the title Hero of Ukraine to protesters killed in the clashes with the riot police.

Identity of snipers

On 30 March 2014, ''The Daily Beast'' published photos which it stated were of members of the Alfa Group of the Ukrainian security services (SBU) taken on 20 February 2014, and said that these troops may have been trained by members of the Russian special forces.

Identified deaths

Unnamed dead activists

There are currently some unidentified activists who were reported killed during the conflict.
*During the Hrushevskoho Street riots, a 22‑year-old man died falling from the colonnade near the Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium during a beating by police; the cause of death was multiple injuries, particularly spine fracture.
*Two unnamed shooting victims were announced by Euromaidan medical service coordinators on the evening of the 22nd. The identity of the two remains unknown as their bodies disappeared from the street after the action of Berkut in the early morning 22 January 2014. Roman Senyk was later identified as shot and killed on this date.
*On 26 January, the body of a man was found in the Obolon district of Kyiv, with his hands bound.
*On 29 January, two male activists, one younger and one older, were shot on Hrushevskoho Street and brought to a Kyiv hospital. The latter died from the gunshot wounds the following day. A UDAR MP accused police of shooting the two as a provocation.
*On 15 February, the body of a missing Euromaidan activist was found outside of Kyiv.
*On 18–19 February, 16 protesters were killed in clashes with police, of whom 7 have been named.
*Later, on 19 February at 9pm, a young man was killed in Khmelnytsky outside the SBU building in further clashes with police. 5Kanal reported both a 23‑year-old and a 16‑year-old were shot and killed.
*On 20 February, at least 34 protesters were shot dead as of 1pm, with reporters verifying the bodies (15 at Kozatsky Hotel, 12 at Ukraine Hotel, 7 at the central post office). Kyiv Post journalists reported an additional eight bodies on Khreshchatyk Street early afternoon, separate from the previous body count. Olha Bohomolets, one of the attending physicians to 12 fatal gunshot victims at Ukraine Hotel, said that the victims were shot with high-precision rifles and powerful ammunition that broke their bones.

Other deaths

On February 18, 2014 militants from the Social-National Assembly and the Patriots of Ukraine seized and burned down the central office of the ruling Party of Regions. A 57-year-old IT engineer Vladimir Konstantinovich Zakharov died in the fire. According to Party of Regions' statement, Zakharov proposed to the attackers to provide an exit route for the women office workers and was mortally struck in the head with a bat. According to the Ukrainian news site Censor.net, Zakharov died of carbon monoxide poisoning while taking money from the office's safe. On April 10, 2020 Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigations handed a murder suspicion notice to a former People's Deputy of Ukraine Tetiana Chornovol. Chornovol is accused of "controlling actions of a group of people and directly participating in the arson" of the Party of Regions office building.

Police officers' deaths

The Maidan activists seeking the change of government were opposed by the Ukrainian police force. As of 2 March, The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported 18 police officer fatalities related to the conflict. Two deaths which occurred during the crisis were considered by The Interior Ministry's as having no relation to Euromaidan or civil unrest. In addition, according to the Minister of Internal Affairs, another police officer, 30-year-old captain of the Internal Troops of Ukraine Dmytro Donets, had died from a heart attack. On 18 February, six officers were killed in action against protest camps in Kyiv.

Legacy of the dead pro-Euromaidan activists

Ukrainian sources often refer the pro-Euromaidan activists who died during Euromaidan as "The Heavenly Hundred".
In April 2014, the Kyiv City State Administration and Culture Ministry of Ukraine stated that they expected to open a memorial complex "to the heroes of Heavenly Hundred" in February 2015, on the occasion of the anniversary of the death activists.
On 1 July 2014, the Verkhovna Rada (the parliament of Ukraine) established the Medal "Order of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes".
On 25 August 2014, President Petro Poroshenko claimed he had called the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases