The “Snipers’ Massacre” on the Maidan in Ukraine | Oriental Review
The “Snipers’ Massacre” on the Maidan in Ukraine | Oriental Review
The massacre of almost 50 Maidan protesters on February 20, 2014 was
a turning point in Ukrainian politics and a tipping point in the
conflict between the West and Russia over Ukraine. This mass killing of
the protesters and the mass shooting of the police that preceded it led
to the overthrow of the government of Viktor Yanukovych and gave a start
to a civil war in Donbas in Eastern Ukraine, Russian military
intervention in Crimea and an international conflict between the West
and Russia over Ukraine. A conclusion promoted by the post-Yanukovych
governments and the media in Ukraine that the massacre was perpetrated
by government snipers and special police units on a Yanukovych order has
been nearly universally accepted by the Western governments, the media,
and many scholars. The Ukrainian government investigation identified
members of the special company of Berkut as responsible for killings of
the absolute majority of the protesters, but did not release any
evidence in support, with the exception of videos of the massacre.
