{"id":2289164,"date":"2024-07-04T11:32:01","date_gmt":"2024-07-04T15:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ukraines-independence-square-transforms-into-makeshift-national-cemetery-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-07-04T11:35:24","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T15:35:24","slug":"ukraines-independence-square-transforms-into-makeshift-national-cemetery-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ukraines-independence-square-transforms-into-makeshift-national-cemetery-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine\u2019s Independence Square transforms into makeshift national cemetery &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fukraines-independence-square-transforms-into-makeshift-national-cemetery-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2289164&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Summary: \u2062The article \u2062from \u200dthe Washington Examiner discusses the transformation of Ukraine&#8217;s Independence Square into a makeshift <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/capitol-police-officer-who-died-during-capitol-riot-to-lie-in-honor-in-rotunda\/\" title=\"Capitol Police Officer Who Died During Capitol Riot To Lie In Honor In Rotunda\">national cemetery<\/a>. The square, also known as the Maidan, symbolizes the country&#8217;s struggle for independence\u200c from Russia. Scenes of\u200c grief \u2063and honor for fallen soldiers can be\u200c observed at the square, with families paying respects to their loved ones who sacrificed\u200d their lives. The ongoing\u2064 war has turned the \u2062square \u2062into a\u2064 place of remembrance and tribute, with flags\u200b inscribed with the names of the\u200b fallen. The article captures the emotional moments and \u200ctraditions that have \u200demerged, including funerals held at the \u200bsquare to\u2062 honor those who died \u200din the conflict. the Maidan stands as a poignant symbol \u2064of\u200d Ukraine&#8217;s fight \u2064for freedom and\u200b the sacrifices made by its \u200dpeople.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">\n<div class=\"tdb-search-form-inner\"><input class=\"tdb-head-search-form-input\" placeholder=\" \" type=\"text\" value name=\"s\" autocomplete=\"off\"><button class=\"wpb_button wpb_btn-inverse btn tdb-head-search-form-btn\" title=\"Search\" type=\"submit\"><span>Search<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Ukraine\u2019s Independence Square transforms into makeshift national cemetery<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> <a class=\"tdb-author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/joel-gehrke\/\">Joel Gehrke<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2024-07-04T11:01:24-04:00\">July 4, 2024 11:01 am<\/time><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1675129\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>KYIV, Ukraine \u2014<\/strong> A young man sat down amid a crop of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ukraine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Ukrainian flags\">Ukrainian flags<\/a> and focused on one in particular while his loved ones, parents and a sister, it would seem, looked on from a respectful distance. The mother, after a moment, volunteered a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/war-in-ukraine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"brief explanation.\">brief explanation.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy son, Hero of Ukraine,\u201d she said in English, through tears. <\/p>\n<p>It was just one of several scenes of grief that could be observed at the Maidan, Independence Square, on a sunny day. Kyiv\u2019s central square contains, often literally, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/foreign-policy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"struggle\">struggle<\/a> for the country\u2019s independence from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Russia\">Russia<\/a> \u2014 the protests and the monuments to the protesters who have resisted Kremlin schemes and sought to chart a course toward their European neighbors. In the midst of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/quincy-institute-fellow-worries-israeli-lobby-will-scuttle-new-iran-deal\/\" title=\"Quincy Institute Fellow Worries \u2018Israeli Lobby\u2019 Will Scuttle New Iran Deal\">full-scale war<\/a> over that aspiration, the place has acquired the character of a national cemetery, its grassy areas planted with flags inscribed with the names of fallen soldiers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt least for the time being, while the war continues, it will remain like this,\u201d Ukrainian foreign affairs committee Chairman Oleksandr Merezhko predicted.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A crucifix overlooks Kyiv\u2019s Independence Square. Also known as the Maidan, it was where pro-democracy protesters gathered in 2014, when a pro-Russian president faced protests for yielding to Russia\u2019s opposition to trade negotiations between Ukraine and the European Union, a political crisis that ended after the president\u2019s removal from power and Russia\u2019s initiation of the war. (Joel Gehrke \/ Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sometimes, a hearse can be seen parked on the forum, awaiting a group of mourners with a coffin. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately, this war brought a new kind of tradition \u2026 [a] funeral moment on this square in order to give a last thank you to [the] person who died, who sacrificed,\u201d Rev. Sergiy Berezhnoy, a military chaplain of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/christianity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Orthodox Church of Ukraine,\">Orthodox Church of Ukraine,<\/a> said during a visit to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/teenagers-allegedly-killed-spanish-teacher-over-bad-grade-prosecutors-say\/\" title=\"Teenagers Allegedly Killed Spanish Teacher Over Bad Grade, Prosecutors Say\">local parish<\/a>. \u201cWe want all Ukraine to see how we take care about his sacrifice \u2014 how we [acknowledge] really it\u2019s [an] important, for us, moment of our life. We want to [say] that these [are] our heroes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Their mourning takes place within view of a large crucifix erected on a hill overlooking the Maidan, one of many such displays that proliferated across the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n<p>Berezhnoy, a native of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that Russian forces tried to seize in 2014, said that this juxtaposition of religious and secular iconography is a natural one for the Ukrainian people, who have experienced religious and political repression. The chaplain said that his grandmother, for instance, was a survivor of the Holodomor, the 1932-1933 famine inflicted by Josef Stalin\u2019s policies toward eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd my grandma, and other grandmothers and grandfathers of other people, also [were very] religious people,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd despite [the] Soviet persecution, they tried to, you know, to keep this faith, to bring this faith to next generation despite [the] Soviet pressure. \u2026 After that, when we become independent country, first of all, we started to restore our churches, our faith, and our tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The crucifix itself is a monument to that phenomenon. A plaque on the upright dedicates the display \u201cto the victims of the Holodomor and political repression in Ukraine.\u201d Surrounded by trees and flowers, it\u2019s a welcoming place in the cityscape to light a candle \u2014\u00a0or a cigarette.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a symbol \u2026 to understand that we all walk under the Lord God,\u201d as a local man put it during a smoke break.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1675129\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1675129\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ukraine\u2019s Independence Square has been transformed into a makeshift national cemetery, with flags inscribed with the names of fallen soldiers and scenes of grief observed on a sunny day. The square, also known as the Maidan, symbolizes the country&#8217;s struggle for independence from Russia and serves as a place for mourning and remembrance for those who have sacrificed their lives in the ongoing war. The juxtaposition of religious and secular iconography, such as the large crucifix overlooking the square, reflects the Ukrainian people&#8217;s history of religious and political repression and their efforts to preserve their faith and traditions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2743,"featured_media":2289165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Maidan-Independence-Square.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[33931,33932,15264,6991],"class_list":["post-2289164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-independence-square","tag-national-cemetery","tag-transformation","tag-ukraine"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Maidan-Independence-Square.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2743"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2289164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2289165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2289164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2289164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2289164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}