SYRACUSE, N.Y. – On February 20, the Day of the Heavenly Hundred, the Ukrainian Club of Syracuse University planted 100 Ukrainian flags with informational placards on university grounds to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the fallen Euro-Maidan activists who lost their lives at the hands of the Berkut special (riot) police force. These heroes of the Euro-Maidan are now known worldwide as the Heavenly Hundred.
The Euro-Maidan, or Revolution of Dignity, began as a student protest at Independence Square in the fall of 2013. Throughout the winter of 2014, hundreds and thousands continued to gather in this public square to protest the abrupt cancellation of an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU) by the pro-Russian president of Ukraine at that time, Viktor Yanukovych.