Olexander Chestyakov
01.25.2014
Yes, I wanted to gather my impressions of today’s Maidan. This is a real rebel base. I spoke with a very serious Transcarpathian uncle dressed in camouflage, a Banderite – who’s old in spirit, and one of those who would rather blow themselves up in a tight place so as not to get taken into captivity. He said that in such a case, there will be what to answer with in arms, if it goes straight to killing fighters. I believe him. His kind don’t give in and they die standing. Therefore, there’s a great plus of enthusiasm in me today. As for the negatives, there is a war with the “spetz” police [special interior police force units] and “death squads” against the iconic people and their simple, straight support of Maidan.
From the stage they were announcing that special ops forces were calling medics beyond the perimeter of Maidan, supposedly to “pick up medications,” and there they are packed up and taken away, so they have now decided that all medications are only accepted on the territory of Maidan. You can look at the videos of how they kidnapped Automaidan members, I was reading information about FSB “death squadrons.” I think, although this is the scariest of all, that this is what is happening. This can cause such deep wounds, that will take years to heal. You can have a lot of friendliness and courage, but to resist this particular darkness you still need people with special training. Now many people have been lost along the perimeter of the square, Berkut is catching mostly ordinary people, the existence of this symbolism is in itself sufficient. As for iconic types, Dmytry Bulatov [the leader of Automaidan who was taken into captivity with another Euromaidan activist but who has disappeared for days now] the hunters are specially prepared. People hunting. And this might not cease even with an official victory of Maidan over Yanukovych. Patriots are needed in the SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] in order to neutralize this.
And in general, the more Yanukovych cedes (he has himself almost exhausted all his forces), the more we will see ahead of us (but not as prisoners) how much more dangerous, powerful and armed the machine is. And here I anticipate very painful events that might hurt us deeply. But we have to pass through it, and then the final battle will be grander and more massive than we now can even imagine. This is what I was thinking today and had in mind.
Photo: Olexander Chestyakov
Victor Kowalenko
“There is a shift happening in Ukraine and it is slowly growing into a tsunami, that will overtake all participants. Putin better reconsider his megalomaniac strategy of hegemony as the tsunami will keep barrelling in all directions including Russia.”
Julia Knyhnytska
Slava Ukrayini!
I’d like to share some personal insights on the recent developments. It’s up to you, whether to post them or not. It’s just that i keep on coming across such comments in the international media, which label our people ”pro-European integration protesters.” Calling these people that is absolutely inadequate. The EU has not been the issue for quite a while now, whereas most of the world still thinks like that. You know, no one here would die for the EU! Neither would anyone be willing to die for Russia. People are fighting for their rights, against the corrupt officials and law enforcement, against selective justice and for democratic values, for a total government reload, for international (Russian, in the first place) non-interference. Independence, that’s what people are fighting for. Europe should stop being so arrogant! After all, not everything in this world is about Europe 
p.s. the attached link is a mere example of such comments. The photos are really nice, by the way.
http://www.facebook.com/l/eAQED2lw_AQHXYHfhF1zd0I1Lt5JKAr1ogdAGuWG5NJENNQ/www.boston.com/bigpicture/2014/01/riots_in_ukraine.html
Photo: Kutya: is a warm porridge made of wheat berry, honey, poppy seed, walnuts, eaten at Christmas. Wheatberry symbolizes immortality and hope and poppy seeds and honey are symbols of happiness, success and peaceful rest. The photo above is playing on the name Kutya with Berkut-ya, a porridge of Berkut. 🙂
Yuri Dvoryanchykov:
In a middle school in Kyiv schoolchildren have built barricades in the schoolyard and prepared to play “our guys vs Berkut,” like we played “Russians and Germans” before. And it turned out that none of the children wanted to be a “Berkut.” The children threw snowballs and then made a small protest demonstration. They shouted “Berkuts are fascists” and so on.
The country will be in safe hands.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=582205618526650&set=a.235768323170383.57892.100002116521378&type=1
First there was the Voice of the Catapult 1 & 2, then bows and arrows and slingshots, so why not pitchforks on the barricades? Yes, pitchforks had a say in things too. Make fun all you want, but it is not unlike a trident, a “tryzub,” no?:
Extremists around the world destroy shops, yet extremists in Ukraine catch those who destroy shops.
Police around the world protects the public from soccer fans, yet soccer fans in Ukraine protect the public from police.
Police around the world stand tall, yet senior citizens and college freshmen beat police in Ukraine.
Extremists around the world burn cars, yet in Ukraine cars of extremists are on fire.
Nazis around the world support Nazism, and Ukrainian nationalists support European integration.
Mark Gordienko: 01.26.2014
Let me tell you about the “extremists.” I’ll turn them all in. I’ll tell you who pays them and how much.
There are various kinds of people on Maidan. There are party officials, money and interests. And also just different people, who are fearless and determined to fight for justice just because they are fed up. And their fiery hearts can’t bear murder, rape, torture and kidnapping. All that with cynical smiles and comments like: “So, that happens, it’s OK.” Or: “And why are you complaining? You are being killed and arrested according to the law.”
I enjoy talking to them. Odesa squadron is on Hrushevskoho street. They are not on opposition rations. And it means what it means. Sometimes they have nothing to eat.
They spend their money, risk their lives and they don’t expect any privileges in the event of victory. Political activists can count on certain victory rewards. And those guys, they are all on their own.
I’ve spent a day with one of the “extremists”. We went grocery shopping. The extremist was doing all the shopping. He has a small child and elderly and sick mother in their apartment, just pure poverty. He lives on a shoestring. I wasn’t even aware that such food exists. Do you know that there is a sausage for 18 hryvnas a kilo? It costs at least 100 hryvnas in my world. And a spread for 4 hryvnas? Not 25, 40 or 140. Four! And so on. He met my objections with: “It’s all right, the guys will like it. We need to save money…” He was torn between which cigarettes to get, cheap Pryluki or L&M, which are 1 hryvna more.
He saved all receipts to post them to their website. So, overall they spent the same amount of money on a hundred men IN A WEEK as a common cheap-jack from Odesa spends on a family of four.
He refuses to use gasoline car, as it’s expensive. He is looking for a gas or diesel one.
And you know, when there is real trouble, when there is need for someone to get up and lay down his life, we as a society can rely not on excited politicians, but on those men like him. Simple, plainly dressed extremists.
So, here is my question to you. Why the hell do they do it?
Source
Andreas Umland:
To non-Ukrainian friends following events in Ukraine: I would recommend you to come to Kyiv before it is too late, and the revolution is over. You need to see this city of resolute self-defense, effective self-organization, (sym)pathetic barricades, civic resistance, freedom spirit, direct democracy, spontaneous cooperation, improvised discipline, and phenomenal friendliness. The sight, mood and atmosphere of the Euromaidan are a unique experience. You have probably never seen and may never again see anything like this!
Maidan 01.24.2014
Photo: Gleb Garanich:Reuters
Hanna Hrabarska
05.02.2014 Facebook status update
Translated by Elena Tsimbalyuk
Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201402237925595&set=a.1967301029892.2098006.1463931511&type=1&stream_ref=10
– Let’s go, I’ll show you the place where our fellow from Dnepropetrovsk was killed!
– Nigoyan?
– Yeah!
He points with one of his hands somewhere away aside of him and with another one to the side where Berkut is located.
– They were shooting from out there.
I have been looking for Nikolay for about a week. A friend from #ЄвромайданSOS wrote to me that there is a guy from Krivoy Rog at the barricades and he hadn’t met any of his townsmen during the revolution.
Nikolay is 28 years old, he is a miner. He left his enterprise, immediately after the first bloodshed at Maidan and bought his ticket to Kiev.
– Have you arrived to Kiev to make a war?
– No! I don’t want to make any war! I’m here to defend a human life, a human honor, a human freedom! There are Berkut, who gave an oath to a thug! My salary is 2,000.00 UAH, I have nothing to lose! No wife, no children.
Nikolay asked us to communicate to our people from Krivoy Rog [Kryvy Rih], that he stands not for European integration here. He is for European legislation. Here you are, our townsmen, I communicate this to you now…
Voices of Ukraine 