It is time for the United States to acknowledge its role in the 2014 coup d'état in Ukraine, First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said on Tuesday.
"Everyone knows that the US tried to overthrow the president of Venezuela. Now we are waiting for the US to admit a key role in the illegal 'Maidan' coup in Ukraine in 2014, which is also no secret to anyone," he wrote on Twitter, commenting on former US national security aide John Bolton's admission of involvement in the preparation of coup attempts overseas.
On Tuesday, Bolton, commenting on CNN about former US President Donald Trump's role in his supporters storming the Capitol in January 2021, said, "As someone who helped plan coups not here [in the United States] but, you know, in other places, I want to say this is a hefty job."
Events on the Maidan
The riots in downtown Kiev began in late 2013. The organizers of the protests on Independence Square in the Ukrainian capital accused then-President Viktor Yanukovych of refusing to sign the Association Agreement with the EU. A massive months-long protest action began, dubbed "Euromaidan," during which radicals erected a tent city, seized several administrative buildings in downtown Kiev, and created armed "self-defense forces" that openly fought with law enforcement.
The confrontation culminated in the events of February 18-20, 2014, in Kiev, which began with the firing of unidentified snipers. More than 80 people were killed and hundreds injured. More than 20 of the wounded later died in hospitals. Among the dead were protesters and members of the Berkut special forces.
Later, Yanukovych and the government of Mykola Azarov left Ukraine almost in its entirety. A coup d'état took place in the country. The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine opened a case against Yanukovych for the mass murder of civilians. Members of the Berkut special unit were also accused of crimes on the Maidan. They are accused of executing a knowingly criminal order to use weapons. At the same time, crimes against law enforcers are not investigated, and the "sniper case" on the Maidan remains unsolved.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Zuma\TASS
Based on materials from TASS