In Kyiv, Anguish And Uncertainty Over Maidan’s Missing

Faina Taran believes she glimpsed her son Ivan for the last time on TV.

Like much of Ukraine, Faina, 66, was glued to rolling news reports on February 20 during bloody clashes in Kyiv. By chance, the camera settled on her son Ivan, 39, an activist on the front lines.

Two of his comrades had been shot and Ivan, wounded, threw himself at Berkut police officers. He disappeared in a melee of shields, batons, and padding.

Had Faina’s eyes deceived her? The next day she got a call from Ivan’s friend. “Your son is missing. The Berkut got him,” she recalls being told, her voice wavering and eyes welling up. No one has seen him since.

http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-uncertainty-maidan-missing/25302407.html