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Ukraine protests once more turn violent; at least nine reported killed In violent turn, Ukraine fighting kills at least 13
(about 3 hours later)
Violent clashes between hard-line protesters and police erupted Tuesday in Kiev, Ukraine, after more than a week of relative calm, leaving at least nine people dead and many more wounded. Deadly clashes between protesters and police in Kiev on Tuesday led to a fire-lit nighttime assault by interior ministry troops on the main protest encampment at Independence Square in what may be a dramatic and irreversible turn in the months-long political crisis.
The Interior Ministry reported that seven protesters and two interior troops were killed during the clashes. It wasn’t clear whether this total included a body found in the headquarters of the ruling Party of Regions after it had been cleared of occupying protesters. That man was identified as an office worker for the party. After weeks of relative calm, trucks and tents burned, Molotov cocktails smashed against police shields and banners illuminated by the flames all around whipped in the strong breeze. At least 13 people were reported killed.
Law enforcement authorities said they would not tolerate more disturbances and had given the protesters an ultimatum to cease by 11 a.m. Eastern time. No final assault had been launched by late in the evening. But whether or not police clear the square, Ukraine is heading for an even deeper divide than before. The hostility that the opposition feels toward President Viktor Yanukovych is intense and widespread. It is especially heated in the western part of the country.
The opposition called on its supporters to gather at the Maidan, or Independence Square, fearing an attempt by police to sweep away the anti-government encampment that has stood there since Nov. 21. [See a live stream of the protests]
The Kiev metro was shut down, and there were reports that police had blocked roads leading to the nation’s capital to prevent opposition reinforcements from rallying to the square. Having turned to Russia for much-needed financial help last fall, Yanukovych may finally have burned his bridges to the West with Tuesday’s developments, leaving him in danger of being a weakened and unpopular supplicant to Moscow.
[Watch live video from Kiev] The eruption in violence came after nearly a month in which Yanukovych and opposition political leaders warily maneuvered over a new constitution. But early Tuesday afternoon, the parliament, or Verkhovna Rada, refused to take up the issue, and what had been a peaceful demonstration quickly turned into three simultaneous street battles.
The 11 a.m. deadline passed without an immediate police assault on the Maidan. But Interior troops stormed Ukraine House, an exhibition center on nearby European Square that had been taken by protesters in January. Those who had been inside fled north uphill to St. Michael’s Square. The leaders of the protest denounced Yanukovych as the assault on the square, or Maidan, began about 8 p.m. local time. They said he had never intended to reach a deal and had used the weeks of talks to prepare a huge police attack.
A radio station reported witnessing two armored personnel carriers heading toward the center of the city, and Interior troops and hired civilians — popularly known as “titushki” — were photographed heading down Hrushevsky Street, the scene of the worst fighting in January, toward European Square. Yanukovych’s spokeswoman, Hanna Herman, told Radio Liberty’s Ukrainian Service that there will be no further negotiations until the violence stops.
The day began with what was advertised as a peaceful march to coincide with the consideration of constitutional changes by the Ukrainian parliament, or Verkhovna Rada. Protesters pushed up the hill from the Maidan toward the Rada, onto streets that had been formerly controlled by police. “Negotiations will only take place when the violent methods stop, when the opposition gets its armed people off the street and when calm comes back to the country,” she said. “Then it will be necessary to sit at the negotiating table.”
But the parliament declined to take up the proposed changes, and police and helmeted protesters soon were pelting each other with rocks, molotov cocktails and stun grenades. Snipers could be seen on rooftops — at one point they were confronted, on a roof, by protesters carrying steel rods, according to witnesses. The snipers withdrew. Lesya Orobets, an opposition member of parliament, said the protesters had fallen into a trap laid for them by Yanukovych. She said he had knowingly provoked the hardline members of a right-wing group called Pravy Sektor, who have formed the most aggressive element of the opposition and who led the fighting when it erupted.
Opposition forces stormed the headquarters of the ruling Party of Regions, though it was later retaken by pro-government agitators who said they found the office worker’s body inside. “This massacre has been carefully planned in advance and is intended to eventually destroy any hint of democracy in Ukraine,” she wrote on Facebook.
Ukraine had seemed to be on the road toward a peaceful resolution of its long-running crisis. An amnesty had led to the release of nearly all those arrested over the winter in connection with the protests, and opposition forces had abandoned city hall and partially pulled back from Hrushevsky Street. The protests began Nov. 21 when Yanukovych backed off a deal with the European Union, eventually turning to Russia for $15 billion in support. He can now be assured of European hostility.
The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, warned in a tweet that those “who fuel violence will open themselves to sanctions.”
A former American ambassador, Steven Pifer, called the nighttime police assault “unconscionable.”
In Russia, the head of the foreign relations committee of the parliament, Alexei Pushkov, tweeted that Western pressure on Ukraine had “opened the way for radicals.”
The interior ministry brought water cannons and armored personnel carriers to the edges of the Maidan. The subway was shut down, and the authorities said they were closing off road access to Kiev. In months past, caravans, especially from western Ukrainian cities, have often flocked to the capital at times of perceived threats. The country’s leading independent television company, Channel 5, went off the air during the evening in much of Ukraine, according to reports.
Inside their own lines, demonstrators sang the Ukrainian national anthem.
“We will not fall for their provocation, but we won’t retreat even one step from here, from this Maidan, and we don’t have anywhere to retreat to,” an opposition leader, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, told the crowd during the evening.
“We remain here, we are defending our Maidan, we are defending our Ukraine, and we are defending our future,” Yatsenyuk said.
The Interior Ministry said seven civilians were killed and six police. There were widely circulated reports of additional deaths.
Early in the evening, Interior troops and hired civilians – popularly known as “titushki” – could be seen on Web video streams moving down Hrushevsky Street, where violent clashes occurred in January. They stormed Ukraine House, an exhibition center on nearby European Square that had been taken by protesters in January.
Then they turned and moved toward the Maidan.
The fighting had begun in the streets around the Rada, which had once been in the firm control of the police.
Snipers were reported on rooftops — at one point they were confronted, on a roof, by protesters carrying steel rods, according to witnesses. The snipers withdrew.
Opposition forces stormed the headquarters of the ruling Party of Regions, though it was later retaken by pro-government agitators who said they found the body of an office worker inside.
Several interior troops were captured by demonstrators, according to reports, and taken to the Maidan as prisoners.
The shift toward violence was abrupt. In recent weeks, an amnesty had led to the release of nearly all those arrested over the winter in connection with the protests, and opposition forces had abandoned city hall and partially pulled back from Hrushevsky Street.
Parliament, controlled by the Party of Regions, was to consider constitutional changes that would give Ukraine a strong-parliament/weak-president system.Parliament, controlled by the Party of Regions, was to consider constitutional changes that would give Ukraine a strong-parliament/weak-president system.
And in a hopeful sign Tuesday, the head of the Rada said late in the day that President Viktor Yanukovych would meet Wednesday with the three main political leaders of the opposition: Vitali Klitschko, Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Oleh Tiahnybok. But opposition political leaders demonstrated very little trust in Yanukovych even before Tuesday, and their more militant followers have proved difficult to control.
But opposition political leaders have demonstrated very little trust in Yanukovych, and their more militant followers have proved difficult to control. Tuesday’s violence led Vitali Klitschko, head of the opposition UDAR party, to declare that Yanukovych must accede to early elections for president and parliament. The next scheduled presidential election would be in 2015.
Tuesday’s violence led Klitschko, head of the opposition UDAR party, to declare that Yanukovych must accede to early elections for president and parliament. The next scheduled presidential election would be in 2015.
Geoffrey Pyatt, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, tweeted, “We believe #Ukraine’s crisis can still be solved via dialogue, but those on both sides who fuel violence will open themselves to sanctions.”
Catherine Ashton, the top diplomat for the European Union, said in a statement: “I am deeply worried about the grave new escalation in Kiev and the reported victims. I condemn all use of violence, including against public or party buildings.”Catherine Ashton, the top diplomat for the European Union, said in a statement: “I am deeply worried about the grave new escalation in Kiev and the reported victims. I condemn all use of violence, including against public or party buildings.”
The opposition said more than 100 protesters had been injured by police. The Interior Ministry said 37 police officers had been hurt. Several, according to reports, had been seized by protesters and taken to the Maidan. The opposition said more than 100 protesters had been injured by police.
“Soldiers, don’t take blood onto your hands by protecting these gangsters in power,” Yuri Lutsenko, once the interior minister and now a protest leader, said on the stage at the Maidan, according to the Kyiv Post. “If you set foot on the Maidan, this is your choice. Whoever passes this threshold determines their country’s future.”“Soldiers, don’t take blood onto your hands by protecting these gangsters in power,” Yuri Lutsenko, once the interior minister and now a protest leader, said on the stage at the Maidan, according to the Kyiv Post. “If you set foot on the Maidan, this is your choice. Whoever passes this threshold determines their country’s future.”
He added: “You won’t be a traitor if you join us. Show your true soul and hearts.”He added: “You won’t be a traitor if you join us. Show your true soul and hearts.”