page_title: Euromaidan
section_title: Deaths
hierarchical_section_title: Euromaidan / Casualties / Deaths
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry looks at the photos of those killed at Maidan, at the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 4, 2014. [State Department photo/ Public Domain] The photo owner has disabled commenting.
context_page_description: Euromaidan was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on the night of 21 November 2013 with public protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kiev. The protests were sparked by the Ukrainian government's decision to suspend the signing of an association agreement with the European Union, instead choosing closer ties to Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union. The scope of the protests soon widened, with calls for the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych and his government. The protests were fueled by the perception of "widespread government corruption", "abuse of power", and "violation of human rights in Ukraine". Transparency International named President Yanukovych as the top example of corruption in the world. The situation escalated after the violent dispersal of protesters on 30 November, leading to many more protesters joining. The protests led to the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.
  During the Euromaidan, there were protests and clashes with police throughout Ukraine, especially at the Maidan in Kiev, which was occupied and barricaded by protesters, along with some administrative buildings, including Kiev City State Administration.
context_section_description: The first of major casualties occurred on the Day of Unity of Ukraine, 22 January 2014. Four people permanently lost their vision, and one man died by falling from a colonnade. The circumstances of his death are unclear. At least five more people were confirmed dead during the clashes on 22 January, four people perished from gunshot wounds. Medics confirmed bullet wounds to be from firearms such as a Dragunov sniper rifle (7.62mm) and possibly a Makarov handgun (9mm) in the deaths of Nihoyan and Zhyznevskyi. There are photos of Berkut utilising shotguns (such as the RPC Fort), and reporters verified the presence of shotgun casings littering the ground. Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office confirmed two deaths from gunshot wounds in Kyiv protests. "We are pursuing several lines of inquiry into these murders, including [that they may have been committed] by Berkut (special police unit) officers, Vitali Sakal, first deputy chief of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's Main Investigative Directorate told a press conference in Kyiv on Friday...It was established that the weapons and cartridges that were used to commit these killings are hunting cartridges. Such is the conclusion of forensic experts. Most likely, it was a smoothbore firearm. I want to stress that the cartridges which were used to commit the murders were not used by, and are not in use of, the police. They have no such cartridges," said first deputy chief of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's Main Investigative Directorate. The MVS has not ruled out that Berkut officers committed the killings.
  On 31 January it was discovered that 26 unidentified, unclaimed bodies remained in the Kiev central morgue; 14 of which were from January alone. Journalists revealed that a mass burial was planned on 4 February 2014. The Kiev city administration followed on the announcement with its own statement informing that there are 14 such bodies; 5 from January.
  On 18 and 19 February, at least 26 people were killed in clashes with police, moreover, a self-defense soldier from Maidan was found dead. Journalist Vyacheslav Veremiy was murdered by pro-government Titushky and shot in the chest when they attacked his taxi. It was announced that an additional 40–50 people died in the fire that engulfed the Trade Union building after police attempted to seize it the night before.
  On 20 February, gunfire killed 60 people, according to an opposition medical service.
  In total, more than 100 people were killed and 2,500 injured in clashes with security forces. The death toll included at least 13 police officers, according to Ukrainian authorities.
caption: US Secretary of State John Kerry looks at the photos of those killed at Maidan, at the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv.
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