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3 Die in Renewed Protests in Ukraine 2 Die of Gunshot Wounds in Ukraine Protests
(35 minutes later)
KIEV, Ukraine — Three people died here on Wednesday morning, the first fatalities in a two-month protest that had been mostly peaceful until this week. Two young men were shot to death and one tumbled from a high ledge while fighting with the police. KIEV, Ukraine — After two protesters were shot to death during clashes with the police on Wednesday — the first fatalities in Ukraine’s two-month-long civil uprising — President Viktor F. Yanukovich met with opposition leaders as efforts to defuse the crisis took on new urgency.
The lethal turn seemed likely to escalate tensions in Ukraine’s already roiling capital. Even as Mr. Yanukovich met with three Parliamentary leaders at the presidential headquarters, the violent standoff between demonstrators and the authorities continued, edging the capital toward a state of emergency. Businesses and schools near the conflict zone were told to close, and the riot police brought in at least one armored personnel carrier and permitted the use of water cannons even in freezing temperatures.
By afternoon, riot police and protesters were in a running skirmish along a central street leading to the Parliament building, fighting amid the burned-out shells of police vans. Fires continued to burn near Dinamo Stadium, where the main clashes have occurred in recent days, and where protesters have turned the charred carcasses of police buses into barricades. Meanwhile, thousands of protesters were reinforcing barricades in Independence Square, which has been occupied by demonstrators since Dec. 1, in anticipation of a mobilization by the authorities to clear the area.
Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, in a statement to the cabinet, called the protesters terrorists and said the movement’s leaders should take responsibility for the deaths. The circumstances of the two shooting deaths remained murky, with protesters saying the two men had been shot to death by the police. The authorities confirmed that two young men had died of gunshot wounds, and said the deaths were under investigation. Local news media reported that a third man died after apparently falling from atop an archway that protesters had climbed to hurl stones and Molotov cocktails at the police.
A leading opposition party, Fatherland, said it had declared a parallel government called a people’s council. The opposition has asked supporters to come out for a mass rally after working hours on Wednesday. The worsening violence came as Ukraine marked Unity Day — a commemoration of the unification of the Eastern and Western parts of the country in 1919 that is normally a celebration of national pride.
The two young men who died from gunshot wounds were shot near Parliament, known as the Verkhovna Rada, which has been the epicenter of the violence, the prosecutor’s office said, citing medics who treated the men at the scene. President Yanukovich, who has often seemed aloof and remote throughout the political crisis, quickly issued a statement lamenting the deaths, though he placed the blame on the opposition.
It was not immediately clear whether the men had been struck by rubber bullets or live ammunition. The Interfax news agency quoted a medic at the scene saying it appeared that a sniper had shot one of them. “I express my deep regret over the loss of lives in the conflict triggered by political extremists; my sincere condolences to the bereaved families,” Mr. Yanukovich said in a statement released by his office.
Another protester died nearby after falling from a colonnaded entrance to a soccer stadium. Mr. Yanukovich also called for an end to the violence. “Once again I ask people to resist the calls of political radicals,” he said. “It is still not too late to stop and resolve the conflict peacefully. I ask people to return to their homes. We must restore Ukraine peace, tranquillity and stability.”
The fighting between the riot police and protesters began around dawn on a cold morning, after a mostly calm night. Opponents of the government said three recent actions had been intended to incite the more radical protesters and sow doubt in the minds of moderates: the passing of laws last week circumscribing the right of public assembly; the blocking of a protest march past the Parliament building on Sunday; and the sending of cellphone messages on Tuesday to people standing in the vicinity of the fighting that said, “Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance.”
The Ukrainian crisis escalated sharply last week after President Viktor F. Yanukovich signed new laws restricting public assembly and freedom of the press. His actions revived a protest movement that had been fading as its political leaders focused their efforts instead on elections scheduled for next year. With the situation increasingly ominous, however, it was unclear how much sway even the opposition leaders meeting with Mr. Yanukovich could exert over the demonstrators on the street.
“Few days are left, or maybe even hours, when solving the political process is possible through negotiations,” Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, a Fatherland leader, said on Tuesday. “This should be done while people are still willing to listen to politicians and accept the path to political resolution of the crisis.” The three opposition leaders — the former world champion boxer, Vitali Klitschko, who leads a party called the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Political reform; Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk of the Fatherland Party; and Oleg Tyagnybok of the nationalist Svoboda Party — represent distinct factions both in Parliament and among the protesters on the street.
The Fatherland Party, which is led by the imprisoned former prime minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko, issued a statement saying it and other opposition factions would form the people’s council, whose composition would be clarified at the rally planned for Wednesday evening. The statement said it would include elected members of Parliament and regional governments, but it was unclear how much power the body would claim for itself. Mr. Tyagnybok’s followers, in particular, have been among the most aggressive on the streets and the most persistent in their calls for the ousting of the government. Many are from Western Ukraine, which strongly favors closer ties with Europe and where there is often deep animosity toward Russia and its influence over Ukraine, particularly in the East.
“People’s government is what we have declared,” the statement said. Shortly after 5 p.m., the three leaders left the presidential headquarters without making any comment to reporters and television crews gathered outside.
Opponents of the current government said three of its recent actions had been intended to incite more radical protesters and sow doubt in the minds of moderates: the passing of laws last week restricting public assembly; the blocking of a protest march past Parliament on Sunday; and the sending of cellphone messages on Tuesday to people standing in the vicinity of the fighting that said, “Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance.” Mr. Yanukovich’s office issued a statement announcing that “the first stage of negotiations” had been “completed” but with no further elaboration other than noting that the talks had lasted more than three hours.
The United States Embassy in Kiev said on Wednesday that it had revoked the visas of several people suspected of abetting violence between police and protesters last year. It did not identify the people, citing the confidentiality of visa applications. In a statement, the State Department said it was considering further action against “those responsible for the current violence.” Mr. Yanukovich in December had nearly neutralized the protest movement by securing a huge economic rescue package from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, including $15 billion in loans to help stave off an imminent fiscal crisis. That bought Mr. Yanukovich time, and the crowds on the streets dwindled particularly during the holidays and as the weather grew colder.
The European Union called on the Ukrainian government and opposition to begin “genuine dialogue,” and the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said in a statement, “I strongly condemn the violent escalation of events in Kiev overnight leading to casualties.” But the aggressive move last week by Mr. Yanukovich’s Party of Regions, adopting the legislative package of restrictions by a rare show of hands rather than a regular vote, infuriated the opposition and drew more people to the street. At a rally on Sunday, many wore masks and even teakettles in defiance of a new restriction on wearing masks or helmets at public gatherings.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, accused European and American politicians of encouraging the fighting over the past three days. The situation in the city, he warned, was “getting out of control.” The American Embassy in Kiev said on Wednesday it had revoked the visas of several people suspected of abetting violence between police and protesters last year but did not identify these people, citing the confidentiality of visa applications. The statement said the State Department was now considering further action against “those responsible for the current violence.”
“It seems someone is interested in this chaos,” Mr. Lavrov said on Tuesday at a news conference in Moscow. The European Union called on the government and opposition to begin “genuine dialogue” and the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said in a statement: “I strongly condemn the violent escalation of events in Kiev overnight leading to casualties.”
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, accused politicians from the European Union and the United States of encouraging the fighting over the past three days. The situation in the city, he warned, was “getting out of control.”
“It seems someone is interested in this chaos,” Mr. Lavrov said Tuesday at a news conference in Moscow.