Photo: The burnt Kiev Trade Unions Building, headquarters of the Euromaidan movement, was set alight during February’s clashes. The charred building still looms over Maidan square. Photo by Trey Yingst.
AU student Trey Yingst is currently in Ukraine to report on upcoming elections and ongoing violence for News2share.com. The Eagle will be posting daily correspondence. Click here for the next update and here for the previous update.
In his first day in Kiev, Ukraine, Trey Yingst headed to Maidan square to see how Kiev has fared since February’s violent protests.
Three months later, the barricades which once lined Maidan square have been replaced by mounds of garbage bags, tires and turned-up cobblestones. Some protesters still live in tents at Maidan, Yingst said, and several appear armed and ready to fight again.
“It looks as if the Maidan square protesters are prepared for another conflict, if necessary,” Yingst said in a dispatch on News2share’s Facebook page. “There are hundreds of people living in the square and they have not taken down the barricades on any side street surrounding the square. Every place you look, you see bricks, riot shields, and makeshift weapons.”
In December 2013, Maidan was occupied by protesters of the Euromaidan, a Ukrainian movement seeking closer integration with Europe and the ousting of corrupt state officials. Nearly 100 protesters died in late February when Berkut riot police stormed the Euromaidan demonstrations.
In his latest video update, Yingst reports from Maidan square on the state of Kiev since the protests, and fears of additional violence.
