Twenty-two of the 50 detained participants in the violent riots in central Kiev may be charged with criminal offences, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry press service said in a statement, confirming the detainees have been “notified of being under suspicion.”
13:06 GMT: The reason for violent clashes between protesters and police forces lies in the reluctance of the [Ukrainian] government to enter into dialogue with society, says the leader of the Batkivshchina (Fatherland) Party, Arseny Yatsenyuk, reports Interfax-Ukraine.
“People got the right to change peaceful protest into a violent one because “the voicelessness” of power and the [government’s] neglect of its people provoked what we have now in Kiev,” said Yatsenyuk in the National Resistance Headquarters.
The opposition made a list of strict requirements, according to him. Among them are the canceling of the January-16 bills, resignation of the government and the standing down of police forces and Berkut troops.
12:20 GMT: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed her concern over the recent escalation of unrest in Ukraine, particularly in the wake of new legislation passed on January 16.
"I call on the authorities to suspend application of the laws to allow time for a thorough review of their content,” she says.
Pillay says she is “particularly concerned by the potential that these laws have to curtail the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, the right to information, the right of civil society to work freely.”
Nine controversial bills, which permit the arrest of protesters who wear masks or helmets and erect tents or stages without permission from the authorities, come into force on January 22.
11:48 GMT: Government supporters have gathered in Mariinsky park next to the Ukrainian Parliament in Kiev to hold a rally, reports Interfax-Ukraine. The venue for the protest, dubbed “Stop the coup d'état!”, is being guarded by police officers.
Over 3,000 protesters have gathered in Mariinsky park, according to the organizers of the rally, but police figures put it at 1,500.
11:23 GMT: The number of protesters injured in recent clashes in Kiev has reached 122 and 50 still remain in hospitals, reports Kiev City State Administration. On Tuesday 6 protesters from Grushevskogo Street sought medical help, 5 of them have been admitted to hospitals.
119 police officers have sought medical help after two days of clashes in the Ukrainian capital, 80 of them remain hospitalized.
10:28 GMT: The leader of the opposition Udar (Strike) party Vitaly Klitschko is to meet President Viktor Yanukovich for negotiations on Tuesday, reports Ukrainian TBi news channel.
“Viktor Yanukovich has promised me to settle the conflict but he didn’t. I will meet him to seek answers, including on the five demands of the opposition," said Klitschko.
09:58 GMT: Police forces have managed to dismantle a barricade and a catapult which was set up by protesters to hurl objects at police on Monday.
09:55 GMT: Hundreds of protesters have flooded the streets of Kiev. Many of them camped out overnight, despite low temperatures and the huge riot police presence. The protesters are now banging on lamp posts and oil drums on Grushevskovo Street as if making a call to battle.
08:51 GMT: Moscow is ready to be a mediator to settle the Ukrainian crisis only if Kiev asks it to, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a press conference.
“However I understand that our help is not needed as there is a direct contact between the [Ukrainian] president, government and opposition,” he adds.
08:39 GMT: The government in going to do its best to settle the conflict peacefully in Kiev, the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs said in the statement.
“The Ukrainian government plans to exercise maximum efforts to settle the conflict peacefully and [the government] hopes that international community will condemn the radical actions that provoke clashes and threaten life and health of citizens,” says the statement.
08:55 GMT: The center of Kiev is ravaged after a new wave of anti-governmental protests that took place in the Ukrainian capital overnight. After the clashes between opposition and police forces the streets remain in chaos. Overnight the protesters were throwing stones at police and banging on drums.
07:44 GMT: A pro-Western dictatorship in Ukraine is the aim of those fighting against police forces in Kiev, said the chairman of the State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, Alexey Pushkov.
“Those fighting for power in Kiev are not democrats, but trained and armed militants,” adds Pushkov.
07:32 GMT: Four priests from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church managed to stop clashes between protesters and police for a short time. They were standing and praying between opposition activists and police officers.
pic.twitter.com/dCjxwIFuVw
— U.REVOLUTION (@U__REVOLUTION) January 21, 2014
07:05 GMT: Nearly 32 people have been detained by police during riots in Kiev, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry reported. Twenty-two of them remain in police custody as law enforcers investigate the mass disorders. Thirteen of those 22 are suspected of committing criminal offences.
One hundred and nineteen police officers have sought medical help after two days of clashes in Kiev, 80 of whom remain in hospitals, the ministry added.
06:25 GMT: Nine controversial laws from January, 16, which some members of the Ukrainian opposition branded as a state coup, have been published in the parliamentary newspaper the Voice of Ukraine (Golos Ukraini). In Ukraine, a law comes into force the day after its publication in a newspaper.
06:20 GMT: Violence appears to be calming down in Kiev. Several hundred radical protesters are currently in the center of the city. But only a few dozen are still throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at riot police, who are responding with stun grenades and rubber bullets, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
Police seized and dismantled one of the barricades erected by the rioters, but did not launch any major offensive.
Elsewhere in Kiev opposition forces clashed with young people, who they believe to be ‘titushky’ - provocateurs allegedly hired by the government to wreak havoc and discredit the protest. The leader of the opposition Udar (Strike) party Vitaly Klitschko called upon Kievans citizens not to fall for provocations.
“With the titushky in the streets and no police at all, people should organize themselves to protect peace and security in the city,” Klitschko said in a statement.
01:12 GMT: Police just destroyed the catapult which was built earlier by protesters to hurl rocks at police, RT’s Alexey Yaroshevsky reported.
01:11: Police are trying to push protesters off the street in Ukraine’s capital as clashes enter the third day. Reports of police retaliating against Molotov cocktails with rubber bullets.
00:23 GMT: Large groups of people in sports outfits with clubs and baseball bats are descending on Independence Square, according to multiple twitter reports.
Monday, January 20
23:35 GMT: Protesters are pulling up to the governmental quarter in Kiev, fearing an assault by the police, RT’s Alexey Yaroshevsky reported.
Protesters lining up preparing for a possible assault by the police pic.twitter.com/QU0HoD9Si1
— Alexey Yaroshevsky (@Yaro_RT) January 20, 2014
22:48 GMT: Video footage by Ruplty news agency shows emergency services carrying Kiev's injured from the streets to the hospital.
22:47 GMT: Around 10,000 protesters are throwing Molotov cocktails and fireworks at police around the Dynamo Stadium in Kiev. Police have retreated 10 meters and are retaliating with tear gas and rubber bullets, according to Kyiv Post.
20:45 GMT: Around 90 EuroMaidan protesters demonstrate outside the London apartment of Ukraine's wealthiest billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, Kyiv Post reported. Demonstrators shouted "Akhmetov stop Yanukovych!" and "Akhmetov stop the bloodshed!”
20:44 GMT: Protesters launch rocks from the catapult that they built earlier, as police retaliate with flash grenades.
The catapult has even got its own Twitter account @ukr_catapult.
New clashes have broken out by the Dynamo Stadium in central Kiev, and police were stationed around the trees there.
Here's the gear of my cameraman with a pellet hole in it pic.twitter.com/M8qR1rdGHv
— Alexey Yaroshevsky (@Yaro_RT) January 20, 2014
19:04 GMT: At least 44 people have been taken to hospital with various injuries since Sunday, and a total number of 104 have been injured, Kiev mayor office administration reported. The figures are likely to increase as they did not include casualties from the latest clashes.
Wounded policemen have also been excluded from the count, with the latest estimate by Ukrainian Interior Ministry stating that 61 out of 100 injured law enforcers have been hospitalized since Sunday.
18:12 GMT: RT’s Alexey Yaroshevsky reports “unprecedented brutality from both sides” in Kiev. Following brutal beatings of police officers by the protesters, the clashes with law enforcers now leave more people injured.
Ruptly's crew filmed inside a temporary hospital at the Maidan. Some injured have open wounds with bones sticking out. Gruesome
— Alexey Yaroshevsky (@Yaro_RT) January 20, 2014
17:59 GMT: A rubber bullet hits a cameraman of Ukraine’s ICTV channel in the eye. Doctors at the scene say he might partially lose eyesight.
17:47 GMT:
One of our cameramen was saved by a plastic shield he wore on his back. It blocked a metal bullet fired by the police
— Alexey Yaroshevsky (@Yaro_RT) January 20, 2014
To clarify - our cameraman's back shield was hit with a rubber pellet in a metal casing, not a firearm bullet
— Alexey Yaroshevsky (@Yaro_RT) January 20, 2014
17:30 GMT: RT's Yaroshevsky reports that at least four injured people were carried on stretchers to ambulance cars in the last 15 minutes of clashes.
17:20 GMT: Representatives of the Ukrainian government and the opposition are holding a crisis meeting, seeking to end the political crisis in the country, local UNN agency reports citing Party of Regions’ MP Anna German.
17:15 GMT: Protesters test-fire the "anti-police" catapult, a projectile lands harmlessly less than 10 meters away, RT's Alexey Yaroshevsky reports.
Катапульта уже в ремонте #євромайданpic.twitter.com/JumAORhf7X
— Євромайдан (@Dbnmjr) January 20, 2014
16:29 GMT: Ukrainian police have used tear gas and stun grenades after pro-EU protesters began throwing Molotov cocktails at officers.
13:30 GMT: The Ukrainian Interior Ministry has condemned the “commandants of Maidan” – the deputies from the opposition representing the protesters rallying in central Independence Square – for providing rioters with “dangerous cold steel arms.”
The opposition deputies are handing aggressive protesters “two meter-long wooden sticks with sharp metal tips,” the ministry said. The improvised weapons are going to be used to harm law enforcement officers, it said.
The MPs are abusing their immunity for forming illegal armed units and inciting mass disorder, the ministry said.
#maidan#kiev#lesOpposants ont achevé la construction du #trébuchet et le chargent avec des pierres. #euromaidanpic.twitter.com/MNmlFtEHiB
— Alekséï Konovalov (@equitibus) January 20, 2014
13:00 GMT: Protesters in Kiev are setting up an improvised catapult, looking to fire projectiles at police cordons, RT's Alexey Yaroshevsky reports from the scene.
12:00 GMT: More than 100 people sought medical assistance after the first day of violence on Sunday, with 61 police officers injured during the riot. Over 30 people were detained.
Sunday, January 19
21:40 GMT: Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich ordered the country’s Security Council Secretary Andrey Klyuyev to create a working group tasked with resolving the political crisis in the country, Itar-Tass reports siting the press service of the Ukrainian president.
21:13 GMT: The US Embassy in Ukraine has called to end the ongoing violent confrontations between protestors and police in Kiev, urging a political dialogue.
"The United States Embassy calls for an end to ongoing violent confrontations between protestors and police in Kiev. We urge calm and call on all sides to cease any acts provoking or resulting in violence," the Embassy said in a statement posted on its website.
"We further urge the Government of Ukraine to immediately start negotiations with all sides to resolve the political standoff, address protestors' concerns, and prevent violence from spreading," the statement reads.
20:57 GMT: At least 5 buses and two police trucks are now ablaze in central Kiev as rioters throw Molotov cocktails. The burning vehicles are blocking the way of the demonstrators to the government and parliament buildings.
20:54 GMT: Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has promised to establish a joint commission of the presidential administration, the government and the opposition, that will work to end the crisis in Ukraine, Vitaly Klitschko announced after the meeting with the president, Itar-Tass reports
20:42 GMT: The Interior Ministry denies deploying rubber bullets against the rioters, Itar – Tass reports.
20:33 GMT: At least 40 policemen have been injured in clashes in Kiev, Interior Ministry reports.
20:18 GMT: Opposition leaders Arseny Yatsenyuk and Alexander Turchinov urge the demonstrators to leave Grushevskogo Street and return to Maidan to protest peacefully, lenta.ru reports.
20:15 GMT: Top opposition figures are trying to distance themselves from the violence in the street using a “good cop bad cop” tactics, investigative journalist Neil Clark told RT. “If the opposition had the support which they claim to have then why don’t they simply wait for elections next February?” Clark wondered. “And the hypocrisy of the Western leaders about this is quite striking because Yanukovich was a democratically elected leader. And in a democracy if you want to remove the government then what you do is you try to persuade people to vote for you in free elections.”
20:00 GMT: Interior Ministry reports that over 70 law enforcement officers suffered injuries in clashes
19:12 GMT: Two journalists suffered from stun grenades in Kiev, Interfax reports.
18:56 GMT: Rubber bullets are reportedly being used by law enforcement to push back the rioters.
18:27 GMT: At least 30 policemen have been injured in clashes in Kiev, 4 of them in critical condition, Interior Ministry reports.
18:13 GMT: Police detained four active rioters, as reported by the "Comments" publication citing the Interior Ministry.
17:55 GMT: Police deny using water cannon against protesters. The Interior Ministry said that it was a fire hydrant.
17:49 GMT: Rioters have overturned and vandalized several parked cars.
17:40 GMT: EU Ambassador to Ukraine Ian Tombinsky urged the crowds in Kiev not to aggravate the situation. "We urge people not to exacerbate an already difficult and dangerous situation. The attack on the police may give rise to those who do not want a political solution of the crisis."
17:30 GMT: Molotov cocktails are seen being thrown at police lines as rioters continue to attack law enforcement in Maidan Square and Grushevskogo Street.
17:24 GMT: More than 20 law enforcement officers suffered injuries in clashes on Grushevskogo Street, interior Ministry reports. Ten people are hospitalized, four of them are in serious condition. Most suffered head injuries, fractures, bruises and "poisoning from unknown substances."
17:10 GMT: At least 20 policemen have been injured in clashes, the Interior Ministry reports.
16:56 GMT: Reporter from "Vesti" news says the radical opposition from the Maidan square are bringing axes to Grushevskogo Street and are preparing to attack the "Berkut" special forces cordon.
16:49 GMT: Doctors from Kiev’s hospitals are being called into Maidan to help the wounded, UNIAN reports.
16:40 GMT: Police use stun and gas grenades to push the protesters beyond the security cordon and from the roofs of buses.
Police bus set on fire in Kiev. Getting worse pic.twitter.com/hLDgH9T0aX
— Alexey Yaroshevsky (@Yaro_RT) January 19, 2014
16:26 GMT: Police open criminal proceedings into the riots taking place on Grushevsky Street, under Article 294 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, UNIAN reports.
16:24 GMT: Security forces are trying to defend themselves and disperse the crowd using tear gas
16:21 GMT: At another scene of the protest, on Grushevsky Street, around 500 protesters also clash with police. At the Dinamo Stadium, another bus is set on fire.
16:16 GMT: Water cannon have been deployed at the Maidan Square. Opposition activists have claimed police already used it to disperse the crowd.
16:08 GMT: Opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko stepped in to try and prevent the clashes, but was sprayed with powder from a fire extinguisher in the process. Photos on Twitter showed Klitschko, covered in foam, trying to calm down the crowd through a bullhorn.
Rioters are smashing police bus pic.twitter.com/1bCW0lDkiX via @euromaidan
— Alexey Yaroshevsky (@Yaro_RT) January 19, 2014
16:04 GMT: Opposition Arseny Yatsenyuk and Oleg Tyahnibok urge participants on Maidan not to succumb to provocations and remain on the Maidan and continue to protest peacefully. However, many protesters do not pay attention to these calls.
16:00 GMT: Rioters from the "right sector" (armed wing of the nationalist wing in Maidan) capture a Special Forces soldier from the "Berkut" detachment and are dragging him to face public trial on Maidan, Ukranian Insider publication reports.
14:30 GMT: Hundreds of Ukrainian protesters approach cordons of security forces surrounding government buildings and start throwing stones at the police, as at least 10,000 people are rallying on Kiev's central Independence Square at an anti-government demonstration.
Protesters wearing orange helmets and wielding sticks and flares clash with police and attempt to turn over a police bus. Police retaliates by throwing flash grenades from behind the cordon.
A police bus is set on fire by a petrol bomb as the cordon stands its ground and the opposition leaders urge the protesters to refrain from violence and stop provoking the law enforcers.
