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| At least seven protesters killed as Kiev clashes continue | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Hopes for a settlement of Ukraine's three-month crisis are evaporating amid scenes of rioting, burning buildings, police bombings and rubber bullets, leaving up to seven protesters dead and dozens seriously injured in some of the worst violence in Kiev in three months of confrontation. | |
| The violence was the worst in weeks after the Russian-backed president, Viktor Yanukovych, the main target of the protests, delayed outlining an agreement to appoint a new caretaker coalition government. | |
| Columns of riot police attempted to banish crowds of protesters from the country's parliament, while demonstrators also partially ransacked the offices of Yanukovych's political party. The security services issued an ominous warning, ordering tens of thousands of protesters to get off the streets by Tuesday evening or face a crackdown. | |
| "Extremists are killing innocents on the streets of the capital, burning buildings and cars," a security services statement said. "Unless the disorder stops, we will have to restore order by all means envisaged by law." | |
| The foreign ministries of Ukraine and Russia issued what appeared to be co-ordinated statements blaming western Europe for fomenting the unrest. | |
| It appeared that the Kremlin had a hand in the political machinations behind Tuesday's eruption and the crackdown, as it offered $2bn to Yanukovych and sought to influence the appointment of the new prime minister. | |
| Women and children were being evacuated from the crucible of the protest , Independence Square, amid reports that riot police were firing smoke and stun grenades. Opposition sources also said police snipers were firing on the demonstrators from rooftops. | |
| Lesya Orobets, an MP with the opposition Batkivshchyna party, said she had seen bodies lying in the officers' club building – a cultural centre for the military – along with others who had been seriously injured. | Lesya Orobets, an MP with the opposition Batkivshchyna party, said she had seen bodies lying in the officers' club building – a cultural centre for the military – along with others who had been seriously injured. |
| "Three bodies of our supporters are in the building. Another seven are close to dying [because of wounds]," she said in a Facebook post. | "Three bodies of our supporters are in the building. Another seven are close to dying [because of wounds]," she said in a Facebook post. |
| Russia blamed the west on Tuesday for an escalation of tension in Ukraine, saying it was a "direct result of connivance by western politicians and European structures that have shut their eyes … on the aggressive actions of radical forces". | Russia blamed the west on Tuesday for an escalation of tension in Ukraine, saying it was a "direct result of connivance by western politicians and European structures that have shut their eyes … on the aggressive actions of radical forces". |
| In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry called on the Ukrainian opposition to "refrain from threats and ultimatums and establish a substantive dialogue with the authorities with the aim of extricating the country from deep crisis". | In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry called on the Ukrainian opposition to "refrain from threats and ultimatums and establish a substantive dialogue with the authorities with the aim of extricating the country from deep crisis". |
| Moscow's rebuke came as hundreds of Ukrainian protesters threw rocks at police outside parliament and opposition politicians accused the government of stalling on constitutional reform that would diminish the president's powers. | Moscow's rebuke came as hundreds of Ukrainian protesters threw rocks at police outside parliament and opposition politicians accused the government of stalling on constitutional reform that would diminish the president's powers. |
| Responding to clashes near parliament on Tuesday morning, opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko urged the President Yanukovich, to remove riot police from the streets to head off further "conflict in society". | |
| "I am appealing to the president. Take the Berkut [Ukrainian riot police] and interior forces off the streets. Do this and it will provide a way out. It will be the decision of a real man," Klitschko told journalists inside parliament. | "I am appealing to the president. Take the Berkut [Ukrainian riot police] and interior forces off the streets. Do this and it will provide a way out. It will be the decision of a real man," Klitschko told journalists inside parliament. |
| Clashes broke out when protesters confronted police about 100 metres from parliament and set alight three police trucks with petrol bombs only to be forced back by police firing rubber bullets, stun and smoke grenades. | Clashes broke out when protesters confronted police about 100 metres from parliament and set alight three police trucks with petrol bombs only to be forced back by police firing rubber bullets, stun and smoke grenades. |
| The latest confrontation came as a session to discuss reform was delayed, and two days after protesters left a government building they had been occupying in Kiev after the release of scores of jailed activists. | The latest confrontation came as a session to discuss reform was delayed, and two days after protesters left a government building they had been occupying in Kiev after the release of scores of jailed activists. |
| Police responded with teargas as smoke from burning tyres billowed over Kiev. The violence reduced hopes for an imminent solution to the nearly three-month-long crisis. |