On February 20, 2024, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC), together with Ukrainian communities around the world, join Ukraine in honouring the memory of the brave men and women who gave their lives for a free, sovereign, democratic and pro-European Ukraine during the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, who are known as “The Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred.”
The Heavenly Hundred’s sacrifice for Ukraine became a turning point in the Revolution of Dignity, fundamentally changing Ukraine’s historical trajectory and marking a new stage in the Ukrainian people’s independent and democratic European future.
Ten years ago, the world watched as the Ukrainian people stood up to defend their freedom and dignity against an oppressive, Kremlin-controlled president who lied to his people and created a police state. The Revolution of Dignity began as an expression of the Ukrainian people’s aspiration to join the European Union. Ignoring the popular will, the Russian-controlled Yanukovych regime resorted to the use of force, resulting in the murder of over a hundred peaceful protesters by government forces on the streets of downtown Kyiv from February 18-20, 2014. When then-President Yanukovych realized his murderous brutality could not put down the uprising, he fled to his masters in Russia.
Following Yanukovych’s flight to Russia, Moscow used the ensuing chaos to launch its military invasion, occupy Crimea and invade eastern Ukrainian oblasts in its bid to keep Ukraine in its orbit of influence. Incapable of breaking Ukraine with eight years of low-intensity conflict, the criminal Putin regime launched its genocidal and full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
“Ten years ago, the brave men and women of the Heavenly Hundred were the first Ukrainians to lay down their lives in the struggle against twenty-first-century Russian imperialism. These Heroes, among the millions of peaceful protestors who aspired to live in a European democratic state that respects human rights, will forever be remembered for making the ultimate sacrifice in defence of the Ukrainian people’s freedom and dignity,” stated UWC President Paul Grod.
“Today, it is our duty to stand strong and united in the face of the deadly Russian military invasion. Wherever we live, we must ensure that all possible international support is there for Ukraine, which desperately needs the necessary weapons to win the war and defeat Russia. The heinous Putin regime must be held accountable for its crimes!” Grod added.
Cover: UWC’s archive
