Violent clashes in Kiev continued for a second day on Wednesday as Ukrainian riot police battled anti-government protesters occupying a central square in the capital amid the worst crisis the country has faced since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
At least 25 people were reported to have been killed and hundreds injured in Tuesday’s violence – the deadliest clashes in three months of anti-government protests.
The bloody stand-off showed no sign of abating on Wednesday as buses and cars carrying protesters from western Ukraine – where anti-government sentiment runs high – arriving in the capital. The government had announced it would seal off the central district of Kiev from midnight on Tuesday.
Witnesses speaking to news agencies on Wednesday said police appeared to be gaining ground in Independence Square, centre of the protests against President Viktor Yanukovich, but were being repelled by thousands of anti-government demonstrators massing behind burning makeshift barricades of tyres and wood.
Shrouded in plumes of black smoke, police were trying to extinguish the fires with two water cannons, while protesters responded by hurling petrol bombs at the police vehicles, a Reuters cameraman said.
As the clashes continued Mr Yanukovich urged opposition leaders to disassociate themselves from what he called radical elements and said they had "crossed the limits when they called people to arms”.
The Yanukovich statement came after late-night talks with opposition leaders, including former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, broke down without any resolution.
"Unfortunately, I have nothing good to bring from the talks,” Mr Klitschko said. "Yanukovich is inadequately reacting to the situation. The president said that there is only one solution . . . that everyone [all the protesters] should go home.”
Ukrainian authorities reported more than 25 deaths from Tuesday’s violence, including nine police officers, following hours of street-fighting around the parliament building. They also said that of some 350 law enforcement officers who had been hospitalised, 74 had gunshot wounds.
Protesters in western Ukrainian cities, a heartland of anti-Yanukovich supporters, were also reported to have seized government buildings.
The renewed violence, which comes after almost a month of relative calm is the latest twist in a battle that began in late November after Mr Yanukovich backed away from signing far-reaching EU integration agreements.
Instead he tilted Ukraine towards Moscow, which granted a $15bn bailout for the country’s ailing economy, prompting protesters to take to the streets of Kiev and other leading cities. They are demanding that a caretaker government be formed to sign the EU agreements.
Tuesday’s fighting raged in the blocks around Ukraine’s parliament and presidential buildings. Television footage showed police snipers shooting what looked to be stun grenades and rubber bullets from the roofs of nearby buildings, forcing protesters to use makeshift shields to protect themselves.
Some demonstrators wearing camouflage clothing, military helmets and bulletproof vests responded with what appeared to be hand guns, although it was not clear whether they were firing rubber or live bullets.
The protesters also set fire to tyres close to the parliament building and reports emerged of a Molotov cocktail being hurled into the offices of the pro-presidential Party of Regions nearby. Dozens of police and protesters were reported injured.
"We see that this regime again has begun shooting people; they want to sink Ukraine in blood. We will not give in to a single provocation,’’ opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk told the protesters. "We will not take one step back from this square. We have nowhere to retreat to. Ukraine is behind us, Ukraine’s future is behind us.’’
Lady Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, condemned the violence in a statement and urged Ukraine’s leadership to "address the root causes of the crisis”, adding: "Political leaders must now assume their shared responsibility to rebuild trust and create the conditions for an effective solution.” EU leaders were said to be unable to reach Mr Yanukovich by phone,
US Vice-president Joe Biden called Mr Yanukovich on Tuesday and urged him "to pull back government forces and to exercise maximum restraint”, the White House said. Mr Biden told the Ukrainian leader that the US "condemns violence by any side, but that the government bears special responsibility to de-escalate the situation”.
Russia’s foreign ministry issued a statement blaming "western politicians and European structures” for the violence in Kiev, accusing them of "closing their eyes from the beginning of the crisis to the aggressive actions of radical forces in Ukraine”.
In a sign of the potential for increased violence, Right Sector, one of the most militarised protest groups, urged citizens with guns to join the encampment. It said it had "confirmed” information that authorities would seek to clear the square using live ammunition and armoured military vehicles.
"In connection with this, we call upon all owners of guns to gather in Maidan [Independence Square] and form a unit to protect the people from those serving this criminal regime,” the group said.
Tuesday’s escalation in violence came a day after Anton Siluanov, Russia’s finance minister, appeared to raise the stakes in the east-west geopolitical tussle by saying his government would purchase a further $2bn of Ukrainian government bonds. Russia had frozen the assistance package following the resignation of Mykola Azarov, Ukraine’s Moscow-friendly prime minister.
As pro-presidential lawmakers on Tuesday said that Mr Yanukovich was likely to appoint a new premier this week, suspicion grew that his choice – not yet made public – had been approved by Moscow.
The patience of protesters is now running out, according to Vadim Karasiov, a Ukrainian political analyst. "They want a complete overhaul of government today, but the regime will try to hold on to power . . . so there could be further escalation in coming days,” he said.
(Financial Times, February 19, 2014)
