The Worst Day In Kiev?

Reporter's Notebook: The Worst Day I've Seen In Kiev -- Todd Baxter and Lateef Mungin, CNN

Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- The gunbattle was so close it rattled the walls.

I grabbed my camera and pointed it out the window, looking toward Independence Square. From more than 10 stories up, I filmed the chaos. Protesters were all around, ramming into the lines of police officers. Black smoke hung in the air. Gunfire rang out.

I saw a medic shot in the arm. He was helped to safety. I saw at least 20 wounded people carried away. But the gunmen could not be seen. There was panic. People looked skyward, scanning rooftops for snipers. At one point, a crowd of protesters stormed this hotel. They searched, floor to floor, trying to confirm a rumor that snipers were shooting from here.

Then there was another rumor about what was in the lobby of this hotel.

Read more ....

My Comment: Regular readers of this blog know that I have family in Kiev .... and it has certainly not been an easy week. I just learned a few minutes ago that my cousin's daughter is safe. She is a beautiful 24 year old lady .... but today she made the decision to be at the barricades to help in the production line that made molotov cocktails.

Sighhhh .... I think my cousin .... who is just as attractive as her daughter .... aged 20 years today.

Even my 87 year old mother has gotten upset over what has happened .... and she survived the Second World War.

Bottom line .... this crisis is splitting my own family. On my mother's side everyone is Russian .... Moscow and Saint Petersburg is where everyone has lived .... and continues to live. On my father's side .... they are also Russian .... but they are from Kiev, south of Kiev, and the western part of Ukraine.

The older generation supports the government .... the younger generation do not .... and as you can imagine .... tempers are becoming frayed.

As to where do I stand .... I am the guy in the middle who lives in Canada .... far away from the chaos and mayhem that is happening in Kiev right now. I am also the one that both sides in my very large family go to when times go bad .... and for my relatives in Ukraine they are very bad right now. But being outside of the box does give me a perspective that no one who is caught up in the middle of this conflict can have right now .... and my perspective is the following ....

This political crisis and the violence that it has spawned is eventually going to stop .... but not before more bloodshed and damage has been done. After what happened today .... the anger, hatred, and bitterness will be around for a very long time .... and it will take people who are neutral and who have not been involved in this crisis to step up and try to calm the situation .... and to bring a sense of stability and authority that people will accept.

Ukraine's economy will also need financial help and assistance when this is over .... for the country is now essentially bankrupt. I have no illusions that the West is going to help Ukraine .... the EU is broke and I expect zero assistance from the U.S.. The one who must (and will) step up is Russia .... and I have confidence that once the situation has stabilized, Russian President Putin will authorize the assistance that Ukraine will desperately need. In the long term .... the EU will play an important role in Ukraine's future .... but not today.

In conclusion .... I am glad that my father is not alive to see all of this. He grew up during the Ukraine famine. He was witness to the first bombing of Kiev by Nazi Germany on the first day of the war. He was drafted into the Soviet army to fight the Nazis and their Ukrainian collaborators. And in the end ..... when the Soviet Union broke apart and the Communists were kicked out .... he felt (and he believed) that a better time was coming.

Sadly .... especially after today .... I know that he would be deeply depressed with what is happening.