Kyiv Standoff
"Extremists from the opposition have crossed the line. They are killing innocents on the streets of the capital of Ukraine, burning buildings and cars. Unless the disorder stops at 6:00 p.m., we will have to restore order by all means envisaged by law."Police attempted to drive two armoured personnel carriers through stone-reinforced barriers at Independent Square, the protest focal point in Kyiv. They were unable to proceed, set upon by protesters with rocks and fireworks. The two vehicles burst into flames, the security officers inside trapped. Which set off a desperate rescue effort on the part of their colleagues.
Ukraine Interior Ministry
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| Anti-government protesters throw missiles in clashes with police in Independence Square, Kyiv -- AP |
Tuesday evening, Ukrainian riot police officers moved on protesters massed in their thousands behind barriers that were built throughout Independence Square. Protesters and police clashed, and by the end of the day nineteen people were dead, and over two hundred wounded. Protesters accused police of using live ammunition on the bloodiest day of violence since the protests began over two months ago.
Hours of street battles had destroyed hope of an early political settlement after an amnesty deal. The deadly violence resulted from freshly aroused accusations that President Viktor Yanukovych was making a final secret agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The political crisis in Ukraine appears unstoppable, and it has resurrected Cold War animosities between Russia and the West, with each blaming the other for Ukraine's creeping civil war.
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| Riot police clash with protesters - The Associated Press |
The extent of the violence prompted the government to ban any further protests with the threat to use any force seen to be required to restore order. Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko took cognizance of the situation to urge women and children to leave the barricaded compound for their safety while calling on Ukrainian men to join the thousands established there to prevent police from clearing the arena.
Police made use of rubber bullets and stun and flash grenades in an effort to stop the rock-throwing marchers. At least two government trucks were set afire by Molotov cocktails tossed from the crowd, while protesters burned tires, producing thick black smoke plumes covering the area. Mouth-gasping pepper gas flooded Mariyinsky Park, where a line of defence about 200 metres from parliament was established by hundreds of riot police.
A like number of protesters wielding truncheons and wearing helmets and bullet-proof vests, with some holding air pistols, faced off against the police. "Today, we face the choice of whether we'll be a colony of Russia or an independent state. We are not afraid", lawmaker Andriy Parubiy exhorted a swelling crowd before the march.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced that Russia was prepared to resume the purchase of Ukraine's bonds, giving Ukraine $2-billion of the $15-billion of aid promised, along with a break on the price of gas purchases. Mr. Klitschko and Arseniy Yatsenyuk, another opposition lawmaker, met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin for financial and political backing in the formation of a new government.
Leading the Russian Foreign Minister to blame "Western politicians and European structures" and their "policy of connivance" for the fearful escalation of violence in Ukraine. The EU will "do everything" it can to help end the crisis, Ms. Merkel informed her Ukrainian visitors. She expressed to them sympathy for the "legitimate concerns" of Ukrainians.
Labels: Conflict, European Union, Russia, Ukraine, Violence
posted by Pieface @ Thursday, February 20, 2014
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