Thursday, January 23, 2014

EuroMaidan: From Tanks to Torture

The revolution in Ukraine continues to rage. The internet and phone lines have been down off and on and should continue to do so as the government struggles to control what communications go out regarding the conflict. It was with a great deal of dread I woke up to check the news. Not knowing doesn't help, but knowing isn't easy, either. I am just so glad to know that in this horrible, unbelievable time, God is more than in control. He is with all my friends, my family, my church and all the missionaries in Ukraine. How could one go through this without God? I do not know.


From the limited research I've been able to find from western sources, here are some overviews of the current struggle.

A very long and thorough read of the events can be found at http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/standoff-remains-today-after-jan-22-clashes-kill-five-protesters-injure-more-than-300-335387.html

After President Yanukovich passed laws to begin colonization laws to merge Ukraine under the sovereignty of former dictator Russia, the citizens of free Ukraine have continued to assemble, protest, and even fight for their freedom. The country is clearly divided over whether they want to remain free or dissolve back into Communism. For the sake of the gospel and freedom, I pray that the people of Ukraine will remain united and free.

Several leaders of the opposition for freedom have been executed, both in Kiev (the capitol) and prominent southern city, Odessa. As of today, the mayor of Lviv, the most prominent western city, has resigned. Citizens assembling for their freedom have not only been killed, beaten, but as of today stripped naked in the subfreezing snow and tortured publically under the protection of the Special Forces Berkuit, approved by the Presidency. I opted not the post the public photos of these victims. Other innocent and unarmed citizens like seventeen-year-old Mikhailo Niskoguz have been arrested, tortured, and beaten without due process of law. In the case of Niskoguz, he was left to bleed for over four hours before medical attention was called by the Berkuit.


To quote the commentary of western sources watching the revolution........
"This is not a war of radicals. This the war of middle class and civil society, freelancers. journalists, NGOs, IT workers, artists, students and old people, who have nothing to lose."


"Military tanks have reached Maidan Nezalezhnosti – the central square of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine."


President Yanukovych released the statement, "As long as I run Ukraine, no one can divide it."


"The talks on settling the political crisis in Ukraine between the authorities and the opposition must be attended by the president as the guarantor of the constitution and the person responsible for everything that takes place in the country, UDAR Party Leader Vitaliy Klitschko said."


"State-sanctioned homicide is no stranger to Ukraine: In the Holodomor, the Ukrainian terror famine of 1932–33, as many as 8 million Ukrainians were deliberately starved to death in a genocide planned and executed by the Soviet leadership in Moscow and enforced by Stalin’s satraps in Ukraine. In that sense, death-by-sniper-bullet is cleaner. But it is no less murder, and no less state-sanctioned murder, when the bullets are fired by internal security forces and police at the behest of the democratically elected (but certainly no longer “democratic”) government of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych."


"The European Union is considering sending two of its most senior officials to Ukraine over the next week as it ratchets up pressure on Ukrainian authorities to reverse current policies, EU diplomats said late Wednesday."


These and other sources can be followed on kyivpost.com, bbcnews.com, euronews.com and others.
Here are some images of the war continuing today. Please, please pray for Ukraine.

Of the pictures posted, there is some of Klitchko, former pro-boxer and now political leader for the freedom movement. I love the one of him in between the police & civilians, he is so tall! And the picture of the journalists trying to capture the historic events.... one man wearing a strainer on his head in place of a helmet. Oh, Ukraine. Only Ukraine.














1 comment:

  1. You're right the strainer in place of a helmet is so Ukraine. Sadly, things continued over the weekend to heat up and spread to several other cities. Keep up the prayers. Thank you.

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