OZON Monitored the “March of Memory and Hope” in Kyiv

On February 20, a peaceful assembly, “March of Remembrance and Hope,” was held in Kyiv, organized by relatives of prisoners of war and those missing soldiers as a result of the Russian war against Ukraine.

The assembly began near the Verkhovna Rada on Hrushevsky Street and later moved along Park Road to Maidan Nezalezhnosti.

The OZON monitoring group began monitoring at 8:47. By this time, assembly participants were standing on both sides of the roadway on Hrushevsky Street, grouped by brigades and military units. They were holding numerous flags and posters.

At 9:00, a minute of remembrance was held, followed by the anthem, and after it, patriotic music was played from a loudspeaker.

As of 9:20, 340 participants were recorded (with an error of 20 people).

At this time, the organizers conducted a briefing for the participants: they told them about the procedure for action in case of an air alert, compliance with traffic rules, and general rules of conduct. After that, appeals were made by representatives of relatives of military personnel from different brigades about the need to investigate the disappearances of military personnel and return them home.

At about 9:30, an ambulance arrived at the location to assist one of the assembly participants, and a dialogue police officer was also on-site, helping the medics.

The march participants continued to arrive and stand on both sides of the road. They also called on drivers to honk in support of the action.

It is important to note that the dialogue police facilitated this process quite successfully, and in moments of misunderstanding (when the car stopped because the driver did not understand what was happening), the police communicated: “They ask you to honk, honk please.”

At approximately 10:15 a minor conflict occurred between a group of women and the leader of the action, and a dialogue police officer was present at the scene.

Later, at around 10:40, representatives of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War appeared and spoke with relatives from the side of the action near the Kyiv Hotel.

During this time, the following slogans were heard:

• Bring our relatives back alive!
• Bring our relatives back home!
• Heroes do not die!
• The missing are not forgotten!
• We are the voice of those who cannot be heard!
• The uncertainty kills!

10:54 – the beginning of the formation of the column of the march.

10:57 – the beginning of the movement.

The column moved along the following route: Hrushevsky Street – Mariinsky Park – Park Road – Magdeburg Law Alley – Hrushevsky Street – Khreshchatyk Street – Independence Square.

The police escorted the column along the perimeter and restricted traffic on Park Road and Hrushevsky Street to ensure the safe movement of the participants in the action. A patrol car also moved ahead of the column, which was closed by the Main Police Department buses and a patrol car. The column’s length was about 500 meters.

During the march, the participants shouted slogans: “Bring our children home!” “Bring the heroes home!” “The missing are not forgotten!” and “They stood for us—we stand for them!”

At 11:30, the column began moving to Khreshchatyk Street from Hrushevsky Street, and at 11:36, it had already reached Maidan Nezalezhnosti.

At this time, about 70 people were already on the Maidan, standing with brigade flags, flags about the military, and posters. When the action participants arrived at the Maidan, they looked for “their” brigades and stood next to each other—that is, people actually united in one action.

As of 11:55, OZON recorded 640 participants (with an error of 50 people).

Around 12:00, the opening of the exhibition “Heroes: Maidan, War, Memory…” began near the Independence Monument, which is dedicated to the participants of the Revolution of Dignity who died during the Russian-Ukrainian war. During the action, the floor was given to the relatives of the Revolution of Dignity participants and relatives of the military.

At this time, the action gathered around the Independence Monument, and the participants became closer on the stairs on the Maidan.

As of 12:27, OZON recorded 713 participants (with an error of 50 people).

At 13:03, a performance took place: the participants of the action took out their keys and rang them as a sign that people are “key”, and prisoners of war and civilians illegally detained in the Russian Federation should be released.

After that, the relatives of the missing and prisoners of war from different brigades took the floor. They demanded to organize the processes of exchanging prisoners of war, providing information to their relatives, investigating disappearances, making more efforts to search for the missing, exchanging prisoners, and withdrawing the military from dangerous areas of the front. There were also calls for the UN and the International Red Cross Society to make more efforts to search for and exchange prisoners.

Closer to 13:00, the participants began to disperse slowly.

As of 13:30, there were about 100 participants in the action on the Maidan.

At 13:35, the appeals of relatives of missing persons and prisoners of war ended.

At this time, a conflict arises between a participant in the action and one of the organizers, and she turns to the dialogue police for help.

The OZON monitoring group ended the monitoring at 13:45.

Work of law enforcement agencies

The peaceful assembly was protected by:

• 13 dialogue police
• 17 police officers of the Main Directorate of the National Police (HUNP). Of these: 3 officers without any means of personal identification, and at least 7 officers without personal identification badges.

In addition, OZON recorded 4 law enforcement officers in civilian clothes who actively watched the peaceful assembly.

Near the action were recorded: 5 patrol cars, a dialogue police van, a HUNP van, 1 municipal guard car.

When the action took place near the Verkhovna Rada, the OZON recorded 5 TOR (tactical and operational response) officers, as well as a van with a reserve of TOR.

The OZON positively assesses the work of the dialogue police at the “March of Memory and Hope” assembly. Throughout the action, the dialogue police proactively interacted with the organizer and participants, assisted in communication, and responded to conflicts.

OZON volunteers Angelina Tatarikova, Yan Dubitsky, Elai Maro, and monitoring group coordinator Ivanka Malchevska carried out monitoring.