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Ukraine unrest: police and civilians die as police 'fire water cannon on protesters throwing petrol bombs' Ukraine unrest: Police and civilians die as officers 'fire water cannon on protesters throwing petrol bombs'
(35 minutes later)
A large section of the protest camp in the centre of Ukraine's capital has been engulfed in flames as police advance on the demonstrators. Ukraine has seen its deadliest day of violence since anti-government protests began, with fierce clashes bringing new intensity to a political crisis that has festered in Kiev since late November.
Using water cannons and stun grenades, the riot police were moving into the sprawling camp late Tuesday after nine people were killed in violent street clashes. At least seven demonstrators and two police officers were killed in street battles in the Ukrainian capital, with dozens more injured. Several of the dead had suffered gunshot wounds, according to a police spokesperson.
Police officers tried to disperse protesters who were throwing petrol bombs on the edge of Kiev's Independence Square, television pictures showed on Tuesday. Clashes erupted outside government buildings in the centre of the city after opposition leaders warned that security forces were planning to clear the sprawling protest camp in Kiev’s Independence Square, which is also known as the Maidan. Television footage showed anti-government protesters throwing petrol bombs, fireworks and rocks at riot police, and setting fire to piles of tyres to prevent officers from entering the Maidan, while hundreds of riot police used water cannons on advancing protesters in sub-zero temperatures.
Anti-government demonstrators also threw fireworks and stones at riot police, igniting piles of tyres and wood to block officers entering the square they have occupied in central Kiev. “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,” Arseniy Yatsenyuk, leader of Ukraine’s largest opposition bloc, 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.”
Seven civilians and two policemen had died, the police said.  
The action comes after a 6pm (1600 GMT) deadline for protesters to end street clashes with police set by Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies passed. Olha Bilyk, spokeswoman for the Kiev city police, said two policemen were killed, likely by gunshot wounds and seven civilians died, including three who were shot, according to the Associated Press. The Interior Ministry said 40 police and 150 protesters were injured. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister blamed “radical forces” for the escalation.
In an impassioned speech, Ukrainian opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko failed to persuade President Viktor Yanukovich not to send in police to break up a peaceful protest on Kiev's Independence Square. Despite the freezing conditions, dozens of tents have been set up in the square since the protests began in November, after President Viktor Yanukovych spurned a historic trade and political agreement with European Union in favour of a £9bn financial bailout from Russia, used to balance the country’s precarious finances. Russia had since frozen tranches of the aid amid behind-the-scenes pressure for Mr Yanukovich to crush the protest movement.
Speaking on the square known locally as the Maidan, Klitschko urged women and children to leave the area, saying: "We cannot exclude the possibility of use of force in an assault on the Maidan." Hundreds of thousands of people took the streets to demonstrate peacefully against the move, but the protests turned violent when the government introduced sweeping new legislation limiting basic freedoms in a bid to finally crush the opposition. Though it was later repealed, the opposition continues to push for early elections (due in 2015) and changes to the constitution. The White House said it was appalled by the violence, and called on Mr Yanukovych to de-escalate the situation “immediately”.
Earlier, plumes of smoke and tear gas filled the air in the capital and stun grenades boomed, as thousands of angry anti-government protesters clashed two days after the government and the opposition reached an unstable compromise that saw jailed activists released. “We continue to condemn excessive use of force by either side. Force will not resolve the crisis,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. “We urge President Yanukovych to de-escalate immediately… We urge him to restart a dialogue with opposition leaders.”
In response, protesters vacated a government building in Kiev they had been occupying since 1 December. European and American officials have been attempting to broker talks between the opposition and the President.
The clashes dimmed hope for an imminent solution to the political crisis. The clashes came two days after protesters agreed to leave a municipal building in Kiev they had occupied since December, after the government released dozens of jailed activists. But tensions flared again when Russia’s Finance Minister offered to deliver another tranche of bailout funds on Monday, sparking fears that the move could pave the way for a Moscow loyalist as the new Prime Minister.
Opposition leaders have accused the pro-government factions in parliament of dragging their feet on the key opposition demand of constitutional reform to limit the President's powers. Anti-government demonstrators stand on barricades during clashes with riot police in Kiev (Getty) The EU’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was “seriously concerned about the escalation of violence”.
Thousands of demonstrators marched towards parliament hurling stones, shouting "shame!" at police, and set trucks blocking their way on fire to put pressure on politicians. The world champion boxer-turned-politician Vitali Klitschko, who heads the oposition party Udar (Punch), said Mr Yanukovych had agreed to meet with opposition leaders on Wednesday. He called on Mr Yanukovych to call an early election and agree to reforms, or face a further escalation of the crisis.
The police retaliated by using stun grenades and fired what appeared to be small metal balls into the crowds.
Dozens of protesters and police staff were injured, as well as journalists working for the Associated Press and the Reuters news agencies.
Anti-government demonstrators stand on barricades during clashes with riot police in Kiev (Getty) The protests began in November after Mr Yanukovych froze ties with the EU in exchange for a bailout from Russia as the two economic blocks manouvered to gain influence over the former Soviet republic.
Russian president Vladimir Putin promised Mr Yanukovych $15 billion (£8.9 billion) in loans in December, but after purchasing Ukrainian bonds worth $3 billion (£1.79 billion) Russia put the payments on hold.
The Russian finance minister said on Monday that $2 billion (£1.19 billion) more would be purchased this week.
Tensions among protesters and officials soared after Russia's finance minister offered to resume financial aid to Ukraine, just as Mr Yanukovych was expected to nominate a new prime minister, prompting fears among the opposition that he would hire a Russian-leaning loyalist.
“After weekend progress in Kiev, sorry to see renewed violence,” US ambassador Geoffrey R Pyatt said in a Twitter post. “Politics needs to happen in the Rada (parliament), not on the street.”
Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko called on Mr Yanukovych to agree to the reforms and to call early elections or face a serious escalation of the crisis.
“We are talking minutes, not hours,” Mr Klitschko told reporters in parliament.
Mr Yanukovych still remains popular in the Russian-speaking eastern and southern regions of the country, where economic and cultural ties with Russia are strong.
Additional reporting by AP and PA