3 Years After Maidan: ‘Ukraine will never be the same’

Three years after the tragic events of the Revolution of Dignity that took place in Kyiv, some of its activists are yet to give up on the ideals they fought for back in 2014. They still commemorate those who died for them. They continue to fight for truth, justice and a better life for all Ukrainians. Hromadske has published a series of stories about people for whom the revolution of 2014 has not yet ended.

Volodymyr Pastushok  was a commander in the ‘Volynska Sich’ company. It was one of the the ‘Maidan self defence’ companies formed out of people from the Volynskiy and Rivnenskiy regions in Western Ukraine.

Three years ago he appeared on air at Hromadske to talk about the death of some of his friends.

‘Grynevych was brought to St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. They brought him in, laid his dead body down and I knew it was him but my mind couldn’t take it in. I saw him, but it couldn’t be him. How could he be dead?’ he remembers while walking at the Instutytskia street, where a lot of people died during the Maidan.

Pastushok, known as ‘Pisnya’ (Song) to his company, would often sing about heroism and courage, striving to also live by those sentiments. In particular he recounts the time he sang on the Maidan stage during a memorial service for his fallen colleagues.

‘Half of the Maidan stood there and cried. We were not just listening to the songs, we were living them.’

Ultimately, Pastushok does not regret risking his life for his country and believes the events of the 2014 have irrevocably changed Ukraine society.

‘Nevertheless, if I could turn the clock back I would do the same again. Ukraine will never be the same as it was before. Nothing can scare it anymore.’

/By Oleksandra Chernova