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Clashes in Kiev Kill Dozens and Draw Warning From U.S. Clashes in Kiev Kill Dozens as Protesters Cling to Square
(about 1 hour later)
KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday that 25 people had been killed after hundreds of riot police officers advanced on antigovernment demonstrators mounting a desperate act of defiance in what remained of their all-but-conquered encampment on Independence Square in Kiev. KIEV, Ukraine — Protesters in Kiev stoked what they are calling a “ring of fire” separating themselves from the riot police in a desperate final effort on Wednesday to defend a stage on Independence Square that has been a focal point of their protests and keep their three-month-old movement alive.
The Health Ministry, quoted by news agencies, said that 241 people had been injured and that nine of the dead were police officers. Men staggering with exhaustion dismantled the tents and field kitchens from the movement’s earlier and more peaceful phase and hauled their remnants onto the fires. They piled on mattresses, sleeping bags, tent frames, foam pads and whatever else looked flammable, burning their own encampment in a final act of defiance.
Ukraine’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday that 25 people, including police officers, protesters and a journalist found dead on a side street near the square, had been killed after hundreds of riot police officers advanced on the antigovernment demonstrators Tuesday and in subsequent fighting on streets in the government district of the Ukrainian capital.
The Health Ministry said that 241 people had been injured and that nine of the dead were police officers. The Interior Ministry said all the police officers had died from gunshot wounds, although witnesses said it appeared that several officers had been trapped in a burning armored vehicle.
As the scope of the violence became clear, Russia, President Viktor F. Yanukovych’s ally in the crisis, released a blistering statement blaming the “criminal activities of radical opposition forces” for causing the bloodshed and denouncing European countries for refusing to acknowledge that. When the protests began late last year, they opposed the government’s rejection of a trade agreement with the European Union.
The statement on Wednesday from the Foreign Ministry described the violence as an attempted coup and even used the phrase “brown revolution,” an allusion to the Nazi rise to power in Germany in 1933.
The ministry said Russia would use “all our influence to restore peace and calm.”
President Vladimir V. Putin’s spokesman said that the Russian leader had spoken by telephone with Mr. Yanukovych and expressed support for a swift settlement, but said it was up to Ukraine’s government to resolve it without external interference. “In the president’s view, all responsibility for what is happening in Ukraine rests with the extremists,” Dmitri S. Peskov, the spokesman, told reporters, according to the news agency Interfax.
Outside of the capital, protesters had again reportedly stormed provincial administrative buildings. Witnesses posting on social networks from western Ukraine, a redoubt of support for the opposition, said that demonstrators who had been protesting outside an Interior Ministry garrison in the region of Lviv had seized the site overnight Tuesday and captured its armory.
In Kiev, the fires kept security forces and their vehicles away from the stage as police seemed unwilling to risk driving through the fires. It was unclear how long the debris of the protesters’ tent camp could fuel the bonfires sufficiently to prevent the stage from being overrun.
The flames of the burning barricades defended the entrances to the square where riot police officers were pressing forward but not streets leading from the plaza. The authorities appeared to be attempting to push the protesters out through exits.
Protesters began pounding with clubs on utility poles and makeshift shields, creating a rhythmic din.
In an indication of deepening concern in Washington, the State Department issued an urgent warning late Tuesday telling American citizens in Ukraine to avoid all protests, keep a low profile and remain indoors at night while the clashes continue.In an indication of deepening concern in Washington, the State Department issued an urgent warning late Tuesday telling American citizens in Ukraine to avoid all protests, keep a low profile and remain indoors at night while the clashes continue.
On Wednesday morning, the scene in Independence Square was apocalyptic, with black smoke billowing from fires and the streets leading to square piled with debris. The protesters’ stage, a focal point of resistance, was still intact and apparently beyond the reach of the riot police. With hundreds of riot police officers advancing from all sides after a day of deadly mayhem here in the Ukrainian capital, antigovernment demonstrators mounted a seemingly doomed act of defiance late on Tuesday.
Police units with a water cannon were massing in front of the Khreschatyk Hotel but made no immediate attempt to move forward. The incinerated hulk of a police armored vehicle, which was lost in the initial push into the square, was still entangled in remnants of the protesters’ barricade. The attack on the square began shortly before 8 p.m., when police officers tried to drive two armored personnel carriers through stone-reinforced barriers outside the Khreshchatyk Hotel on the road to the square. The vehicles became bogged down and, set upon by protesters wielding rocks and fireworks, burst into flames, trapping the security officers inside one of them and prompting desperate rescue efforts to save those caught in the second vehicle, which managed to pull back from the protesters’ barricade.
With hundreds of riot police officers advancing from all sides after a day of deadly mayhem here in the Ukrainian capital, antigovernment demonstrators mounted a seemingly doomed act of defiance late on Tuesday, establishing a protective ring of fire around what remained of their encampment on Independence Square.
The attack on the square began shortly before 8 p.m., when police officers tried to drive two armored personnel carriers through stone-reinforced barriers outside the Khreschatyk Hotel on the road to the square. The vehicles became bogged down and, set upon by protesters wielding rocks and fireworks, burst into flames, trapping the security officers inside one of them and prompting desperate rescue efforts to save those caught in the second vehicle, which managed to pull back from the protesters’ barricade.
A phalanx of riot police officers, backed by a water cannon, had more success in a separate thrust, pushing through protesters’ barricades near the Ukraina Hotel and firing tear gas as they advanced toward the center of the square. People covered in blood staggered to the protesters’ medical center.A phalanx of riot police officers, backed by a water cannon, had more success in a separate thrust, pushing through protesters’ barricades near the Ukraina Hotel and firing tear gas as they advanced toward the center of the square. People covered in blood staggered to the protesters’ medical center.
Feeding the blazing defenses around Independence Square on Tuesday night with blankets, tires, wood, sheets of plastic foam and anything else that might burn, the protesters hoped to prolong, for a while longer at least, a tumultuous protest movement against President Viktor F. Yanukovych, a leader who was democratically elected in 2010 but is widely reviled here as corrupt and authoritarian. Feeding the blazing defenses around Independence Square on Tuesday night, the protesters hoped to prolong, for a while at least, a tumultuous protest movement against Mr. Yanukovych, a leader who was democratically elected in 2010 but is widely reviled here as corrupt and authoritarian.
“It is called the tactic of scorched earth,” said a protester who identified himself as Andriy.“It is called the tactic of scorched earth,” said a protester who identified himself as Andriy.
Doctors and nurses treating protesters in a temporary medical center in the Trade Unions building on Independence Square reported gunshot wounds and evidence that the police had doctored percussion grenades to inflict more serious injury. By early Wednesday, the union building had caught fire and the blaze raged out of control, with flames spreading to adjacent buildings. Doctors and nurses treating protesters in a temporary medical center in the Trade Unions Building on Independence Square reported gunshot wounds and evidence that the police had doctored percussion grenades to inflict more serious injury. By early Wednesday, the union building had caught fire and the blaze raged out of control, with flames spreading to adjacent buildings.
With the center of the city engulfed in thick, acrid smoke and filled with the deafening din of the grenades, fireworks and occasional gunfire, what began as a peaceful protest in late November against Mr. Yanukovych’s decision to spurn a trade deal with Europe and tilt toward Russia became on Tuesday a pyre of violent chaos. With the center of the city engulfed in thick, acrid smoke and filled with the deafening noise of the grenades, fireworks and occasional gunfire, what began as a peaceful protest in late November against Mr. Yanukovych’s decision to spurn a trade deal with Europe and tilt toward Russia became on Tuesday a pyre of violent chaos.
The violence, which will resonate for weeks, months or even years around this fragile and bitterly divided former Soviet republic of 46 million, exposed the impotence, in this dispute, of the United States and the European Union, which had engaged in a week of fruitless efforts to mediate a peaceful settlement. It also shredded doubts about the influential reach of Russia, which had portrayed the protesters as American-backed “terrorists” and, in thinly coded messages from the Kremlin, urged Mr. Yanukovych to crack down.The violence, which will resonate for weeks, months or even years around this fragile and bitterly divided former Soviet republic of 46 million, exposed the impotence, in this dispute, of the United States and the European Union, which had engaged in a week of fruitless efforts to mediate a peaceful settlement. It also shredded doubts about the influential reach of Russia, which had portrayed the protesters as American-backed “terrorists” and, in thinly coded messages from the Kremlin, urged Mr. Yanukovych to crack down.
Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. telephoned Mr. Yanukovych to “express grave concern regarding the crisis on the streets” of Kiev and urged him “to pull back government forces and to exercise maximum restraint,” the vice president’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. telephoned Mr. Yanukovych to “express grave concern regarding the crisis on the streets” of Kiev and urged him “to pull back government forces and to exercise maximum restraint,” the vice president’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Secretary of State John Kerry urged Mr. Yanukovych to stop the bloodshed. “We call on President Yanukovych and the Ukrainian government to de-escalate the situation immediately, and resume dialogue with the opposition on a peaceful path forward. Ukraine’s deep divisions will not be healed by spilling more innocent blood,” he said in a statement.Secretary of State John Kerry urged Mr. Yanukovych to stop the bloodshed. “We call on President Yanukovych and the Ukrainian government to de-escalate the situation immediately, and resume dialogue with the opposition on a peaceful path forward. Ukraine’s deep divisions will not be healed by spilling more innocent blood,” he said in a statement.
The German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned the Ukrainian government that it could face sanctions.The German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned the Ukrainian government that it could face sanctions.
“Whoever is responsible for the decisions which have lead to the bloodshed in Kiev and other parts of Ukraine should expect Europe to reconsider its position on imposing sanctions on individuals,” Mr. Steinmeier said in a statement on Tuesday night. The bloodshed erupted only hours after Mr. Steinmeier had received the two main opposition leaders, Vitali Klitschko and Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, in Berlin, where they also met Chancellor Angela Merkel. “Whoever is responsible for the decisions which have led to the bloodshed in Kiev and other parts of Ukraine should expect Europe to reconsider its position on imposing sanctions on individuals,” Mr. Steinmeier said in a statement on Tuesday night. The bloodshed erupted only hours after Mr. Steinmeier had received the two main opposition leaders, Vitali Klitschko and Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, in Berlin, where they also met Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The State Department, in its alert to American citizens, said that travel into and out of the center of Kiev was restricted and described the situation as “currently very fluid.” It also warned that roving gangs had attacked journalists and protesters and committed other random acts of violence in Kiev and other cities.The State Department, in its alert to American citizens, said that travel into and out of the center of Kiev was restricted and described the situation as “currently very fluid.” It also warned that roving gangs had attacked journalists and protesters and committed other random acts of violence in Kiev and other cities.
“U.S. citizens whose residences or hotels are located in the vicinity of the protests are cautioned to leave those areas or prepare to remain indoors, possibly for several days, should clashes occur,” the notice said. “Further violent clashes between police and protesters in Kiev and other cities are possible. The location and nature of demonstrations and methods employed by the police can change quickly and without warning.”“U.S. citizens whose residences or hotels are located in the vicinity of the protests are cautioned to leave those areas or prepare to remain indoors, possibly for several days, should clashes occur,” the notice said. “Further violent clashes between police and protesters in Kiev and other cities are possible. The location and nature of demonstrations and methods employed by the police can change quickly and without warning.”
Mr. Yanukovych had repeatedly pledged not to use force to disperse protesters, but after meeting President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, he had clearly changed his mind. The fighting also broke out only a day after Russia threw a new financial lifeline to Mr. Yanukovych’s government by buying $2 billion in Ukrainian government bonds.Mr. Yanukovych had repeatedly pledged not to use force to disperse protesters, but after meeting President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, he had clearly changed his mind. The fighting also broke out only a day after Russia threw a new financial lifeline to Mr. Yanukovych’s government by buying $2 billion in Ukrainian government bonds.
The Russian aid appeared to signal confidence that important votes in Parliament expected this week, to amend the Constitution and form a new cabinet, will go in Russia’s favor.The Russian aid appeared to signal confidence that important votes in Parliament expected this week, to amend the Constitution and form a new cabinet, will go in Russia’s favor.
The fateful shift in Mr. Yanukovych’s thinking and tactics will silence what had been chants night and day from Independence Square for him to resign, but it will by no means guarantee his future grip on power in a country that, despite its deep divisions rooted in language, culture and huge disparities of wealth, prides itself on avoiding violence. The shift in Mr. Yanukovych’s thinking and tactics will silence what had been chants night and day from Independence Square for him to resign, but it will by no means guarantee his future grip on power in a country that, despite its deep divisions rooted in language, culture and huge disparities of wealth, prides itself on avoiding violence.
Even one of the president’s most stalwart supporters, the billionaire businessman Rihat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man, seemed distressed by the president’s decision, warning in a statement on Tuesday that “there are no situations whatsoever that vindicate the use of force against a peaceful population.” Even one of the president’s most stalwart supporters, the billionaire businessman Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man, seemed distressed by the president’s decision, warning in a statement on Tuesday that “there are no situations whatsoever that vindicate the use of force against a peaceful population.”
With opposition politicians and other protest leaders vowing defiance late into the night from a stage at the center of their crumbling encampment, it was unclear how long even the greatly feared and detested riot police, known as Berkut, could hang on to Independence Square in the event that residents poured into the area. With opposition politicians and other protest leaders vowing defiance late into the night from the stage at the center of their crumbling encampment, it was unclear how long even the greatly feared and detested riot police could hang on to Independence Square in the event that residents poured into the area.
The authorities shut down the subway system on Tuesday to prevent people from reaching the area and said they would restrict traffic into the city starting at midnight.The authorities shut down the subway system on Tuesday to prevent people from reaching the area and said they would restrict traffic into the city starting at midnight.
Activists in the west of the country, a bastion of support for the antigovernment cause, had earlier vowed to send buses with reinforcements to Kiev. Activists in the west of the country had earlier vowed to send buses with reinforcements to Kiev.
Volodomyr Pogorily, a doctor at the protesters’ medical center, said he had removed five bullets from wounded protesters. Many of the injuries were from percussion grenades, which create a deafening noise but are not meant to be lethal or cause serious injury. But a nurse said the wounds she had treated on Tuesday suggested that the grenades had been wrapped in tape with nails and stones to make them more dangerous. Other victims had been hit by birdshot from shotguns.Volodomyr Pogorily, a doctor at the protesters’ medical center, said he had removed five bullets from wounded protesters. Many of the injuries were from percussion grenades, which create a deafening noise but are not meant to be lethal or cause serious injury. But a nurse said the wounds she had treated on Tuesday suggested that the grenades had been wrapped in tape with nails and stones to make them more dangerous. Other victims had been hit by birdshot from shotguns.
Yevgeny Avramchuk, a protester who was treated at the center, said doctors had removed a pebble from a hole in his calf. Another person was evacuated in an ambulance with a puncture wound to the chest. Throughout the evening, doctors rushed along a corridor lined with a filthy carpet and littered with bloody bandages, removing projectiles from people slumped in the hallway.Yevgeny Avramchuk, a protester who was treated at the center, said doctors had removed a pebble from a hole in his calf. Another person was evacuated in an ambulance with a puncture wound to the chest. Throughout the evening, doctors rushed along a corridor lined with a filthy carpet and littered with bloody bandages, removing projectiles from people slumped in the hallway.
In the late evening, the police finally overcame resistance from barricades near the Khreschatyk Hotel and joined colleagues in a pincers movement to try to secure the flame-encircled center of Independence Square, known as Maidan. As they advanced, protesters started singing the Ukrainian national anthem. In the late evening, the police finally overcame resistance from barricades near the Khreshchatyk Hotel and joined colleagues in a pincers movement to try to secure the flame-encircled center of Independence Square, known as Maidan. As they advanced, protesters started singing the Ukrainian national anthem.
Mr. Yatsenyuk, one of the opposition leaders who met on Monday with Ms. Merkel, delivered what could have been his final speech from the stage in Independence Square, at least for some time.Mr. Yatsenyuk, one of the opposition leaders who met on Monday with Ms. Merkel, delivered what could have been his final speech from the stage in Independence Square, at least for some time.
“We see that this regime started shooting at people again. They want to drown Ukraine in blood,” he shouted. “We won’t react on a single one of their provocations. But we won’t make any single step back from here, from this Maidan.”“We see that this regime started shooting at people again. They want to drown Ukraine in blood,” he shouted. “We won’t react on a single one of their provocations. But we won’t make any single step back from here, from this Maidan.”
Protesters caught three police officers who had apparently tried to run through what the protesters were calling the “perimeter of fire.” One was bloodied and semiconscious. As he was being dragged through the crowd, people kicked and cursed at him. Others yelled to stop beating the officer. “We are not beasts, brothers and sisters, stop,” one man said. Protest leaders stepped in to make sure the officers received medical treatment.Protesters caught three police officers who had apparently tried to run through what the protesters were calling the “perimeter of fire.” One was bloodied and semiconscious. As he was being dragged through the crowd, people kicked and cursed at him. Others yelled to stop beating the officer. “We are not beasts, brothers and sisters, stop,” one man said. Protest leaders stepped in to make sure the officers received medical treatment.
By early Wednesday, the speeches from the stage had given way to mournful prayers and chants by priests from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.By early Wednesday, the speeches from the stage had given way to mournful prayers and chants by priests from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Some protesters acknowledged that they had contributed to the violent spiral of events by attacking police officers during street battles early in the day near the Ukrainian Parliament, which the opposition had hoped would approve constitutional amendments curbing President Yanukovych’s powers.Some protesters acknowledged that they had contributed to the violent spiral of events by attacking police officers during street battles early in the day near the Ukrainian Parliament, which the opposition had hoped would approve constitutional amendments curbing President Yanukovych’s powers.
“We have no other way,” said Lena Melniko, a 33-year-old accountant who joined a team of protesters digging up paving stones and passing them on to fighters to throw at the police, “We have been protesting for three months but are stuck in dead end.” “We have no other way,” said Lena Melniko, a 33-year-old accountant who joined a team of protesters digging up paving stones and passing them on to fighters to throw at the police, “We have been protesting for three months but are stuck in a dead end.”
Throughout the day, opposition leaders urged protesters to stand firm in a series of defiant speeches. “We will come out of Maidan either free or slaves. But we don’t want to be slaves,” said Serhiy Sobolev, a member of Parliament.Throughout the day, opposition leaders urged protesters to stand firm in a series of defiant speeches. “We will come out of Maidan either free or slaves. But we don’t want to be slaves,” said Serhiy Sobolev, a member of Parliament.
Older women clustered on the sidewalk and heckled the police, yelling, “Killers!” and “Shoot us! Just shoot us, kill us, kill us, you bastards!”Older women clustered on the sidewalk and heckled the police, yelling, “Killers!” and “Shoot us! Just shoot us, kill us, kill us, you bastards!”
Petro Poroshenko, a wealthy opposition member of Parliament whose television station has been broadcasting the protests, called for discipline and defiance. “We are here not simply protecting Maidan, we are here protecting Ukraine,” Mr. Poroshenko said, urging residents to converge on the square. “We are not simply staying here for the future of Kiev. We are standing for the unity of Ukraine.”Petro Poroshenko, a wealthy opposition member of Parliament whose television station has been broadcasting the protests, called for discipline and defiance. “We are here not simply protecting Maidan, we are here protecting Ukraine,” Mr. Poroshenko said, urging residents to converge on the square. “We are not simply staying here for the future of Kiev. We are standing for the unity of Ukraine.”