Ukraine commemorates Heroes of Heavenly Hundred

This is reported by Espreso.

Ukrainians have been honoring the memory of the Maidan participants for nine years now. Today is no exception, despite the full-scale Russian invasion.

February 20 is considered the most tragic day during the Revolution of Dignity – dozens of activists died in the center of Kyiv on this day. 

The Heavenly Hundred list was started on January 22, 2014. First, Maidan activists Serhiy Nigoyan and Mykhail Zhyznevskyi died of gunshot wounds in the Kyiv center. On the same day, activist Yuriy Verbytskyi’s body with signs of torture was found in a forest near Kyiv.

By February 18, 2014 there were already 9 people dead, and then mass shootings began. From February 18 to 20 there was the largest number of victims – 78 people died, and after February 20, another 20 people were shot. Almost immediately the dead were called the Heavenly Hundred, although in fact there were more than a hundred of them.

The Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred are honored annually in accordance with the presidential decree of February 11, 2015 "On honoring the feat of the participants of the Revolution of Dignity and perpetuating the memory of the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred."

Every year Ukraine organizes events to commemorate the fallen participants of the Revolution, who gave their lives for the ideals of democracy and the rights of Ukrainians.

Today, the AFU Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi reminded us why we fight for our values and expressed his confidence in our victory.

"Today, the entire country commemorates the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred. This is a reminder of the high price of our freedom and the values that we fight for," he wrote on Telegram.

He recalled that in 2013-2014 Ukrainians made their civilizational choice.

"Straight from the Maidan, thousands of volunteers immediately went to the frontline. Since February 24, 2022, this front has stretched over 3 000 km. But it did not scare us. We continue fighting. And we will win," Zaluzhnyi added.

The President's Office head Andriy Yermak said that the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred sacrificed their lives for the freedom of Ukraine.

"Even then, Moscow wanted to make us a colony, but broke its teeth trying. Our mission is to deprive this swamp of the opportunity to become an empire," he noted.