On this day five years ago Russian snipers indiscriminately opened fire on Ukrainian civilians in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city. As masses of people were shot and killed, the pro-Russian president was boarding a plane to flee to Russia with his illegally-accumulated wealth. He remains there today. He has been tried in absentia and found guilty of treason, but – with Vladimir Putin’s help – will never see a day in prison.
I was watching the live video feed from the revolution in Kyiv when this happened. Suddenly people were dropping to the ground and dying – and nobody knew what was going on. I’ve been able to visit the sites of the crimes a number of times, and will lay more flowers when I return to Kyiv in a few months.
A memorial at the same spot some of the snipers (including those above) were situated, taken on my last visit: