You're reading: Poroshenko promises personal involvement in EuroMaidan investigation

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko plans to personally involve himself in the ongoing investigation of mass murder during the 2014 EuroMaidan revolution.

“For the first time in the Ukrainian history, [a president] has decided to take part in the legal process. It’s unprecedented when a president personally does it, but it concerns us all,” Poroshenko said on Feb. 18, delivering a speech to commemorate the nearly 130 people killed during the Euromaidan Revolution, known in Ukraine as the Heavenly Hundred.

The Constitution of Ukraine forbids a president from interfering in the court system, which is nominally independent. But Poroshenko insisted that he wants to set a precedent.

“Over these past four years, they should have done more,” Poroshenko said, distancing himself from the lack of progress in the investigation that has occurred entirely under his presidency.

Not a single official has been convicted and imprisoned for the mass murders four years after the fact. The lack of progress has sparked anger and despondency in civil society, many of whose members gave their lives during the revolution.

Poroshenko added that he agrees with public opinion that it has taken far too long to investigate senior Ukrainian officials from the Viktor Yanukovych Administration, including the former president, for crimes against humanity committed during the “peaceful protests of citizens” from 21 November 2013 to 22 February 2014.

“At the same time, I realize the scale of the crimes, as well as the necessity of having a legally sound evidence base and adherence to all procedural norms,” Poroshenko said. “We have to go through a complex procedure to ensure that the murderers have no way out through the European courts.”

Poroshenko did not comment on whether his own personnel choices – including the appointment of General Prosecutors Yuriy Lutsenko and Viktor Shokin – may have slowed down the investigation.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian president also said he favors erecting a memorial complex in Kyiv dedicated to the Heavenly Hundred and to the  2014 EuroMaidan Revolution. The Kyiv City Council has allocated a 1.2-hectare lot for the project on the Alley of the Heavenly Hundreds, the portion of Instytutska street where the majority of the killings took place.

“The construction… is possible only there, for this is a holy place for each of us who was there, who held the defense, and for every Ukrainian in the world,” Poroshenko said, confirming the location.

The General Prosecution Office indicted a number of former Ukrainian government officials in 2014. They are accused of illegally obstructing the organization of rallies, marches, and demonstrations; of abusing law enforcement officials and their powers; of the deliberate killing of two or more persons; of attempted murder; of causing deliberate bodily harm; and also of organizing a terrorist act.