Ukraine commemorates Euromaidan amid war

(Vatican Radio) European Union leaders this weekend are expected to join commemorations in the Ukrainian capital to mark the first anniversary of the Euromaidan movement and to remember the 120 people who died during the demonstrations.

Speaking at commemorations held Friday, Ukrainian President Poroshenko urged his nation not to give up hope.

"We are stronger because God is on our side. Because this is a war for our own country. We are waging a righteous war. But that cannot be said about our opponents," he told the crowd. 

Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:

He said the commemoration was a "a recognition of Ukrainian heroism and the price the country paid for justice."

On Friday, the requiem of Mozart reverberated around Kiev’s Maidan Square. Thousands remembered slain victims known as the "Heavenly Hundred". As many as 120 people were shot and killed in last year's uprising that eventually toppled the former Kremlin-supported Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych. 

But soon after, war broke out with Russia annexing Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and pro-Russian separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine.

With the war claiming the lives of more than 5,600 people and displacing more than one million, Ukrainians may be forgiven for questioning whether the uprising was worth a war.

Pro-Russian separatists captured the key railway hub of Debaltseve, between rebel controlled Luhansk and Donetsk, following fierce fighting. In Debaltseve, nearly all buildings were gravely damaged. Clashes forced some people to remain in basements for seven long months. Children now play in rubble where their homes one stood. 

Elsewhere in eastern Ukraine, dozens of ceasefire violations have been reported.         

In the meantime in Russia, government supporters are expected to gather in Moscow on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of what they call “a coup” in neighboring Ukraine. The gathering was organized after Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned Poroshenko for suggesting at a commemoration event that Russia-backed "foreign snipers" killed unarmed protesters in last year's uprising.