Photo Courtesy of Reuters
Protests in Ukraine have been going on since November of 2013, after the government rejected a far-reaching accord with the European Union in favour of stronger ties with Russia. This past week, explosive and violent protests have grown deadly with a clear wrath towards President Viktor Yanukovych.
Petrol bombs and fireworks are erupting in a central Kiev square. Ukrainian riot police are moving in after at least 14 people died. Government troops attacked a protest camp and fired stun grenades and gunshots at thousands of marchers, killing at least nine people, said opposition lawmaker Lesya Orobets. Six police officers have been killed as well, says the government.
Earlier the State Security Service (SBU), in a joint statement with the interior ministry, signaled the government’s intentions saying, “If by 6 p.m. the disturbances have not ended, we will be obliged to restore order by all means envisaged by law.”
Protests have spread to a number of Ukrainian cities, mostly in the west of the country but also in Mr Yanukovych’s traditional support base in the east.
