Maidan cases: More than 30 people involved in shootings on Instytutska Street on February 20, 2014 have been identified
13 February 2025 16:30
As of now, more than 30 people involved in the shootings on Instytutska Street in Kyiv on February 20, 2014 have been identified.
Ihor Zemskov, the prosecutor for Maidan affairs and head of the OGP department, said this at a press conference on the occasion of the Day of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes, whose memory is honored every year on February 20, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing Ukrinform.
“I am dealing with the events related to February 20, 2014 – the shootings on Instytutska Street in the central part of Kyiv. In the course of my investigation, more than seven proceedings have been sent to court and more than 30 people have been identified – both the command staff of the Berkut special forces and the perpetrators of the shooting,” he said.
Zemskov noted that three people have also been identified who, after February 20, helped to destroy weapons, transport the law enforcement officers who carried out the shooting, and helped them to leave in the direction of Crimea. According to him, the proceedings against them have been sent to court, and the verdict in one of the cases has already entered into force.
“We are talking about a law enforcement officer. He helped to cut the weapons, take them out and drown them in the Vita River,” the prosecutor said.
Zemskov added that other people involved in the shooting on February 20, 2014, are currently being tried in various courts in Kyiv. He noted that five members of the Berkut special forces have been sentenced by the Sviatoshynskyi court, where four were convicted and one was acquitted.
“Now we are at the stage of appeal in this case, where the court of appeal is hearing my arguments, and I hope it will give an assessment,” he said.
Volodymyr Tylishchak, deputy head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, noted that the Russian-Ukrainian war and the Revolution of Dignity cannot be separated, as Russian aggression began with crimes against civilians on Maidan who came out to demonstrate their European choice.
Director General of the National Memorial Complex of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes – Museum of the Revolution of Dignity Ihor Poshyvaylo noted that Ukraine has been honoring the memory of the Heavenly Hundred heroes for 11 years. He noted that the slogan of this year’s information campaign is “Heroes of the first victory in the ongoing battle.”
From February 18 to 20, 2014, during the Revolution of Dignity, the confrontation between the Ukrainian people and the then regime reached its peak. At that time, 78 people died at the hands of the security forces, and after February 20, more than 20 more protesters died of injuries.
on October 18, 2023, the Sviatoshynskyi District Court of Kyiv announced the verdict against five former members of a special company of the Kyiv Berkut regiment of special police in the case of the shootings on Instytutska Street on February 20, 2014.
