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LIVE NEWS Maidan Self-Defense In Action AUTHOR: Bohdan Voron OPERATOR: Olexander Savransky
[Reporter:] Cossacks, rebels, hirelings, insurgents? Let's take a closer look at what Maidan Self-Defense really is.
Thousands of men from all over Ukraine leave their families and jobs to protect the Maidan.
We set out to find out how this unique organization really works.
The front barricade at Instytutska street is a masterpiece of DIY fortification.
It is protected by the fighters of the 7th Squadron.
During truce times, the redoubts are being constantly improved.
In front of it, the enemy is met with an ice rink and rows of barbed wire.
One of the Self-Defense fighters, Roman, shows us the fortifications.
[ROMAN - miner from Torez, Donetsk region:] Over here, we blocked off entrance from the subway. You can see the barricade has sagged a bit.
It used to reach the top ledge, but the sacks sag down over time - but it's even stronger now.
If they were to break the glass from the inside, two or more [police] units would be here in under a minute.
[Reporter:] Yet, Roman tells us he didn't come to Kyiv to fight.
He says he got fed up by the corruption and injustice in his Donbas homeland [Eastern Ukraine].
[Roman:] I'm divorced, with two kids. I want them to live, not to survive, like I'm forced to.
I want them to earn money, to have some stability. Not taking to the streets and foraging for money.
Nearby, carpenters from Ternopil built a five-meter tower behind a barricade.
From up here, approaches to the Maidan can be guarded by two watchmen in bulletproof vests.
[MARKIYAN, resident of Lviv:] The tower offers great vantage over this street --
--as well as over that ravine behind you.
It's a good place to watch, because the Berkut forces may approach from there.
The tower also has spotlights, that can be used to light certain parts of the perimeter.
[Reporter:] The self defense fortified the entirety of the perimeter, up to the Zhovtnevy Palace.
Underneath, on Instytutska Street, is the first barricade and the First Squadron.
They were the beginning of the Self-Defense, the first one to build fortifications. They are people from different walks of life.
[OLEXANDER - commander of the First Squadron:] We get everyone here - from someone with three higher education degrees --
to 18-year-olds, who just left school and are planning to go to university.
[Reporter:] A knight from the Lion's Squadron shows us the gear of the Self-Defense
These are helmets - metal military ones, and plastic hardhats, as well as gas masks.
[Knight from the Lion's Squadron:] Here you can see a metal shield, for defense.
It's primarily used on the barricades, as protection against rubber bullets. It can also deflect hits of the Berkut.
[Reporter:] Deputy commander of the Fifteenth Squadron assures us that metal shields are neither for impressive looks nor intimidation.
You can see what dent a riot [non-lethal] bullet leaves
[Knight:] Were it not for the shield-- You can imagine the power behind the shot, strong enough to bend a metal sheet.
[Reporter:] This squadron has its own workshop. Camping mats are used to make protective arm and leg pads.
The living conditions are austere, but no fighters complain.
Everyone is like a Cossack here, and even the structure of the squadron [Sotnya, lit. 'Hundred'] is divided into companies [Chota's] and platoons [Riy's].
[ANDRIY - acting commander of the 15th Squadron:] Our squadron has nine companies [Chota's], that makes for about 250 people.
When things get hot out there, the squadron swells up and takes in new people.
Right now, there's a truce, things are more peaceful, and we let the people go get some rest --
-- rotate the forces, let some men go home. We are not in the military service, we're not paid for this.
[Reporter:] A medical unit is attached to the squadron. They follow the squadron with stretchers and take the wounded away from the battlefield.
Each squadron holds regular drills, and practices defensive methods.
[Men chanting, music playing]
[Banner: THE FREE PEOPLE - 15th Self-Defense Squadron]
[Reporter:] To protect themselves from the bullets and grenades, fighters of the 2nd Squadron built a large metal screen on wheels.
One of the Ukrainian Self-Defense fighters received a gift from museum workers - a helmet of a Polish soldier, from the 1980's.
At the time, the Polish Soviet government declared a state of emergency to squash the Solidarnosc [Solidarity] movement.
In one of the squadrons, we met a Polish man, who came to the Maidan to follow his heart's call. In the past, he was an activist in Solidarnosc.
[MARTIN - came to the Maidan from Poland:] I saw what was happening at the barricades, a hundred meters from here.
I couldn't take it, I had to come here. I'm Polish, and despite the history between our countries --
-- or maybe so that we would forgive each other and realize we're not enemies, we have to work together and live as friends.
[Reporter:] The police aren't thrilled with the work of the Self-Defense. From time to time, the MIA reports that its officers are taken prisoner.
[OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF UKRAINE:] 'This is not the first case when law enforcement officers were taken captive by the rioters in the downtown Kyiv.'
'We remind you that on January 24, members of the so-called 'Maidan security' captured three police officers. One of them sustained knife wounds in the process.'
[Reporter:] The Headquarters of the People's Resistance denies such claims and says that the only people captured at the Maidan are thieves and provocateurs. They are then handed over to the police.
[SIGN: Warning! Outside the barricades, the police seek out and detain people in helmets, masks or uniforms (fatigues, khakis), and falsely charges them with mass rioting and attacks on the police. BE CAREFUL.]
The Maidan's territory has grown a lot since the events at Hrushevskogo street.
There are now barricades in the Khreschaty Park, Volodymyrsky descent, Horodetskogo street. The need for people grew accordingly.
[DANYLO - working in the Headquarters of the Maidan Self-Defense:] Officially, there are 35 squadrons. They are assigned to different areas.
We have a lot of different barricades, there's the internal and the external perimeters. Plus, there's internal security, and patrols.
[Reporter:] Every night, squadron commanders meet to discuss and make plans.
New men are enrolled after an interview with a commander.
Moral and physical qualities are important, but so is the new recruit's ability to spend at least a few days here.
Commander Sergiy, who came to the Maidan from Nova Kahkovka [Kherson region] tells us that the fighters of the Self-Defense don't require any external motivation.
[SERGIY - squadron commander:] People who came here are self-organized. They are inspired to come here.
We barely need to organize them. They come here, and they truly want to help.
[Reporter:] Today, the Maidan Self-Defense includes over 5,000 people. This could be one prototype for future law enforcement authorities.
Why not go beyond the borders of the Maidan, to create such organizations in all regions of Ukraine?
[BANNER: All will be Maidan!]
Bohdan Voron, Olexander Savransky, Zhyve TV [Live TV] [Subtitles by Maria Stanislav, Voices of Ukraine]