Ukraine marks 3rd anniversary of uprising amid fresh tensions

(Vatican Radio) Ukraine is marking the third anniversary of the deadly Euromaidan protests that ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych but were followed by a war that killed thousands. 

Monday's commemoration came amid new tensions over the Crimean Peninsula which was annexed by Russia and a pledge by US president Barack Obama to try to reach a peace settlement before he leaves office. 

Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:

Government officials, Maidan protest participants, and ordinary citizens are holding ceremonies to mark the Day of Dignity and Freedom, a national day commemorating the beginning of the Euromaidan protests in 2013 that overthrew Yanukovych.

They placed flowers at a monument in Kiev to the "Heavenly Hundred". It's a reference to the many protesters who were killed in clashes with security forces during the protest.

In a speech, President Petro Poroshenko called on the nation to unite and stand against the Russian "threat". He insisted that the former Soviet republic would never revert to its Moscow-dominated past.

MORE DETENTIONS

His comments came while Russian law enforcement officials announced that two more suspected members of a "Ukrainian saboteur group" were detained last week in Russian-annexed Crimea. 

The arrests of the alleged two former Ukrainian army officers, identified as Oleksiy Stohnyy and Hlib Shablyyi, came after Moscow announced that Russian security forces had "detained three members of a sabotage-terrorist group from the main intelligence directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry" in the city of Sevastopol.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry called the claims "another fabrication of the Russian secret services aimed at justifying its own repressive measures against local residents and discredit Ukraine on the international arena." 

Despite the tensions, U.S. President Barack Obama says he wants to reach a negotiated peace settlement in Ukraine before he leaves office in January. 

PEACE AGREEMENT? 

Obama said he talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday about Ukraine and the "need for us to get things done."

Kiev has expressed concern about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's shock election victory because of the billionaire's praise for Putin. 

Ukraine's central government and the West have accused Russia of backing pro-Russia separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine with weapons and troops, charges oscow denies. The conflict has killed nearly 10,000 people, including children.