By Ivan Katchanovski, Ph.D.
School of Political Studies &
Conflict Studies and Human Rights Program
University of Ottawa

Paper presented at the virtual 10th World Congress of the International Council for Central and East European Studies, Concordia University, Montreal, August 3-8, 2021
Updated November 29, 2021

This study examines evidence revealed by the ongoing trial and government investigations
concerning the Maidan massacre in Ukraine. The massacre of the protesters and the police
during the “Euromaidan” mass protests in February 2014 contributed to the overthrow of the
Ukrainian government and ultimately to a start of the civil war in Donbas, Russian military
interventions in Crimea and Donbas, the Russian annexation of Crimea and an international
conflict between the West and Russia. The research question is as follows: What does evidence
made public by the Maidan massacre trials and Ukrainian government investigations reveal
about which of the parties of the conflict was involved in this mass killing? This paper analyzes
several hundred hours of video recordings of the Maidan massacre trials and information
concerning investigations of this massacre in over 2,500 court decisions from the official court
decisions database in Ukraine. It examines trial and investigation testimonies of wounded
protesters, relatives of the killed protesters, prosecution and defense witnesses, and top officials
of the Yanukovych government. The study also analyzes results of forensic ballistic and medical
examinations and investigative experiments, and videos and photos of the Maidan massacre
made public during the trial. It includes several online video appendixes. They contain
testimonies of wounded protesters and witnesses concerning snipers in Maidan-controlled
locations and content analyses of synchronized segments of American, Belgian, Belarusian,
British, Finish, French, Dutch, German, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian TV videos,
recordings of live online broadcasts, and social media videos of this crucial massacre.
The Maidan massacre trials and investigations have revealed various evidence that four killed
and several dozen wounded policemen and at least the absolute majority of 49 killed and 157
wounded Maidan protesters were massacred on February 20, 2014 by snipers in Maidancontrolled buildings and areas.

Such evidence includes testimonies of the absolute majority of
wounded protesters, several dozens of prosecution witnesses, dozens of defense witnesses, and
14 self-admitted members of Maidan snipers groups. Videos presented at the trial showed that
times of shooting of the absolute majority of protesters did not coincide with times of shooting
by the Berkut policemen, who were charged with their massacre. Forensic medical examinations
determined that the overwhelming majority of the protesters were shot from steep directions
from the sides or the back. Initial ballistic examinations did not match bullets extracted from the
bodies of killed and wounded protesters to the Berkut Kalashnikovs. Forensic examinations of
the bullet holes by the government experts for the Maidan massacre trial suggested that Berkut
policemen were shooting in the Hotel Ukraina snipers above the Maidan protesters and in trees
and poles. The analysis shows cover-up and stonewalling of the investigations and trials by the
Maidan governments and the far right. The prosecution denied that there were any snipers in the
Maidan-controlled buildings. Not a single person is convicted or under arrest for the massacre of
the protesters and the police almost 8 years after one of the most documented mass killings in
history.

Conclusion


The Maidan massacre trials and investigations have revealed various evidence that the
police and at least the absolute majority of 49 killed and 157 wounded Maidan protesters on
February 20, 2014 were massacred by snipers in Maidan-controlled buildings and areas. Such
evidence includes testimonies of the absolute majority of wounded protesters, several dozen
prosecution and dozens of defense witnesses. The Prosecutor General Office investigation
Determined that about half of Maidan protesters were wounded from other locations than the
Berkut police positions on the ground.
Since the investigation and the trial did not reveal any “third force” snipers, this means
that the Maidan snipers with the involvement of the elements of the Maidan leadership
perpetrated this massacre. This is consistent with various evidence, such as videos of Maidan
snipers in the Maidan-controlled buildings and areas during the massacre and testimonies by 14
self-admitted members of Maidan sniper groups.
Videos presented at the trial confirmed that specific times of shooting of specific
protesters in the absolute majority of cases did not coincide with times of shooting by the Berkut
policemen and directions of their shooting. This visual evidence alone shows beyond any doubt
that the Berkut policemen, who are charged with the massacre of the protesters, did not massacre
at least the absolute majority of killed and wounded Maidan protesters on February 20. The
videos made public during the trial, such as the Belgian VRT TV video, provided evidence that
the Maidan protesters were lured and then massacred by snipers from the Maidan-controlled
buildings, such as the Hotel Ukraina.


Forensic medical examinations determined that the absolute majority of the protesters
were shot from steep directions from the sides and back. This is consistent with locations of the
Maidan-controlled buildings and areas and inconsistent with the locations of the Berkut police on
the ground. Initial ballistic examinations did not match bullets extracted from the bodies of killed
and wounded protesters to the Berkut Kalashnikovs. Forensic examinations of the bullet holes by
the government experts for the Maidan massacre trial suggested that Berkut policemen were
mostly shooting above the Maidan protesters into the Hotel Ukraina, which was the main
location of the snipers.
Killing and wounding of a small minority of protesters by the Berkut police, in
particular, by ricochets or in crossfire with snipers in the Maidan-controlled buildings, cannot be
excluded because of the lack of publicly available data or because of contradictory data. But their
killing and wounding in the same locations and at the same time as other protesters suggest that
most of them were also likely shot by the Maidan snipers. The trials and investigations have not
revealed any evidence that Yanukovych or his law enforcement ministers and commanders
ordered the massacre of the Maidan protesters.
There are various indications of stonewalling of the Maidan massacre investigations and
the trials by the Maidan governments and far right organizations and the cover-up of much of the
key evidence of the massacre. The investigation denied presence of any snipers in the Maidancontrolled buildings in spite of the overwhelming evidence. The Maidan massacre investigation
and trial were stonewalled, charges against Berkut policemen and later two Omega members
were trumped up, and much of the evidence destroyed in order to cover-up involvement of
Maidan leaders and snipers in this mass killing.


Not a single person has been convicted or under arrest for the Maidan massacre of the
protesters and the police on February 18-20, 2014 after almost eight years of the investigations
and six years of the trials in spite of this case of political violence being one of the best
documented cases of the mass murder in history and one of the most significant human rights
violations in independent Ukraine. No one was charged with attempted murders of almost half of
the wounded protesters on February 20.
Such revelations from the Maidan massacre trials and investigations corroborate
findings of the previous academic studies that this massacre was a false flag mass killing with
involvement of elements of Maidan leadership and the far right and that it included the massacre
of the police. The puzzling misrepresentation of the Maidan massacre, its investigation, and the
trial by Western governments and the media requires further research concerning reasons for
such misrepresentation.
The revelations from the trials and investigations which confirm that the Maidan
massacre of the protesters and the police was a false flag operation which involved Maidan
snipers and elements of the Maidan leadership have major implications for understanding not
only this crucial case of political violence in Ukraine. They have major implications for
understanding the “Euromaidan” and the origins of the violent conflict in Ukraine and the
conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and between Russia and the West. The revelations from
the Maidan massacre trials and investigations show that the narratives promoted by the
Ukrainian and Western governments and with some notable exceptions the media that the
Maidan protesters were massacred by government snipers and/or the Berkut police are false.

Contrary to the dominant narratives, the mass “Euromaidan” protests failed to achieve a political
transition. This massacre started an armed conflict in Ukraine that led to the Ukrainian
government overthrow and escalated into the secession and annexation of Crimea by Russia, the
civil war in Donbas, Russian military interventions in Crimea and Donbas, and major protracted
conflicts between Ukraine and Russia and the West and Russia.

By FOS-SA

One thought on “The Maidan Massacre in Ukraine: Revelations from Trials and Investigation”

Comments are closed.