Changes

Key [[neoconservative]]s, such as [[Victoria Nuland]] and [[Sen. John McCain]], began pushing for the [[violent]] coup that in February 2014 ousted Ukraine's democratically elected President Viktor Yanukovych and touched off the [[new Cold War]] with Russia.  Senior U.S. government officials reportedly told the leaders of the [[Svoboda party]] that the deaths of a few protestors would not be enough to change Western support, but the Yanukovych government would only change if the number of victims was greater than one hundred.<ref>https://rumble.com/vxdun0-the-maidan-sniper-massacre-revealing-ukraine.html</ref>  As in [[Syria]] and other "[[Arab Spring]]" uprisings, ''[[agent provocateurs]]'' began shooting and killing people on both sides to provoke a civil [[insurrection]].  Almost 100 Soros-backed activists and 17 police officers were killed.<ref>https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26079957</ref> [[George Friedman]], chairman of ''[[Stratfor]]'', called it "the most blatant ''coup'' in history."<ref>https://consortiumnews.com/2014/12/22/the-liberal-idiocy-on-russiaukraine/</ref><ref>https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2636177</ref>

Key [[neoconservative]]s, such as [[Victoria Nuland]] and [[Sen. John McCain]], began pushing for the [[violent]] coup that in February 2014 ousted Ukraine's democratically elected President Viktor Yanukovych and touched off the [[new Cold War]] with Russia.  Senior U.S. government officials reportedly told the leaders of the [[Svoboda party]] that the deaths of a few protestors would not be enough to change Western support, but the Yanukovych government would only change if the number of victims was greater than one hundred.<ref>https://rumble.com/vxdun0-the-maidan-sniper-massacre-revealing-ukraine.html</ref>  As in [[Syria]] and other "[[Arab Spring]]" uprisings, ''[[agent provocateurs]]'' began shooting and killing people on both sides to provoke a civil [[insurrection]].  Almost 100 Soros-backed activists and 17 police officers were killed.<ref>https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26079957</ref> [[George Friedman]], chairman of ''[[Stratfor]]'', called it "the most blatant ''coup'' in history."<ref>https://consortiumnews.com/2014/12/22/the-liberal-idiocy-on-russiaukraine/</ref><ref>https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2636177</ref>

 

On February 16, 2014, members of parliament passed a bill toughening penalties for participation in mass [[riot]]s. After that, the Headquarters of the National Resistance (the coordination center of Euromaidan) announced a "peaceful offensive" on the parliament building. On February 17, the Pravy Sektor put its metropolitan and regional units on alert.

On February 16, 2014, members of parliament passed a bill toughening penalties for participation in mass [[riot]]s. After that, the Headquarters of the National Resistance (the coordination center of Euromaidan) announced a "peaceful offensive" on the parliament building. On February 17, the Pravy Sektor put its metropolitan and regional units on alert.

====Investigation and whitewash====

====Investigation and whitewash====

The official investigation by the coup regime was fabricated and stonewalled.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKMoq61IN02VsItd-uIZKtJKrPxA4z1Q8</ref>  The forensic investigations which were made public at the Maidan massacre trial revealed that on February 20, 2014, the absolute majority of the protesters were shot from side and back directions and from top to bottom directions, while videos and photos of the massacre showed them facing the Berkut special police force on the same ground level. In January 2015, a forensic ballistic examination conducted upon the request of prosecution concluded that bullets extracted from killed protesters did not match the bullet samples from any Kalashnikov assault rifle which members of the Berkut special police force were then armed. The findings of this computer-based ballistic examination and results of the other 40 ballistic examinations were reversed in a couple of ballistic examinations conducted manually in the very end of the investigation. Such unexplained reversals which contradicted other evidence, such as testimonies of wounded protesters and results of forensic medical examinations, suggested that the findings of the new examinations of bullets were unreliable and likely falsified. The forensic ballistic examinations also found that many protesters were killed on February 18–20 by hunting pellets and expanding hunting bullets, in particular, with caliber that did not match calibers of weapons used by the special police company, whose members were charged with killings these protesters.<ref>Katchanovski</ref>

The official investigation by the coup regime was fabricated and stonewalled.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKMoq61IN02VsItd-uIZKtJKrPxA4z1Q8</ref>  The forensic investigations which were made public at the Maidan massacre trial revealed that on February 20, 2014, the absolute majority of the protesters were shot from side and back directions and from top to bottom directions, while videos and photos of the massacre showed them facing the Berkut special police force on the same ground level. In January 2015, a forensic ballistic examination conducted upon the request of prosecution concluded that bullets extracted from killed protesters did not match the bullet samples from any Kalashnikov assault rifle which members of the Berkut special police force were then armed. The findings of this computer-based ballistic examination and results of the other 40 ballistic examinations were reversed in a couple of ballistic examinations conducted manually in the very end of the investigation. Such unexplained reversals which contradicted other evidence, such as testimonies of wounded protesters and results of forensic medical examinations, suggested that the findings of the new examinations of bullets were unreliable and likely falsified. The forensic ballistic examinations also found that many protesters were killed on February 18–20 by hunting pellets and expanding hunting bullets, in particular, with caliber that did not match calibers of weapons used by the special police company, whose members were charged with killings these protesters.<ref>Katchanovski</ref>