Unrest in Kiev

Ukraine opposition vows 'to go on offensive' if demands not met

Ukrainian opposition leaders have threatened to “go on the offensive”, if the president does not respond to the demands in the wake of Wednesday’s talks not yielding any results. Meanwhile, rioters remain in central Kiev, causing unrest and damage.

RT,

22 January, 2014

Read RT's live updates from Ukraine.

"Tomorrow if the president does not respond ... then we will go on the offensive," said Vitaly Klitschko, one of the leaders, addressing the thousands of protesters on Independence Square, Maidan.

Following the three-hour long meeting with the President Victor Yanukovich, opposition leaders said there had been no positive response from the president to their demands, which include lifting the anti-riot laws, the government stepping down and an early ballot.

Yanukovich offered to “continue talks regarding the laws tomorrow,” the opposition Fatherland party leader Arseny Yatsenuk said.

However, the opposition is still urging protesters not to leave the square, to defend it and also to prepare for a police offensive against them.

Ukrainian riot policemen detain a protester following clashes in central Kiev on January 22, 2014.(AFP Photo / Anatolii Boiko)

"Today they (the police) are preparing to clear us out of the 'Maidan' (Independence Square)," Klitschko said. "We must do all we can to stop them clearing us out."

Thousands of protesters remain in Grushchevskovo Street, the scene of intensive confrontation with "radical anti-government activists" in the vicinity of the Ukrainian parliament building. Rioters continue to burn tires, smash up streets and erect barricades.

Throughout the evening, police have been holding their line, attempting to put out fires with water cannons. After four days of protests, the center of the Ukrainian capital continues to resemble a warzone, with smoke, barricades, and debris all around.

Wednesday's clashes between rioters and police intensified in the afternoon after riot police cleared Grushchevskovo Street.

Footage from the Ukrainian capital showed hundreds of police officers using tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun grenades against the protesters, in what is believed to be the largest dispersal to take place since the latest outbreak of violence began. Some clashes involved policemen snatching individual rioters from the crowd and brutally beating them.

Demonstrators responded with an intense barrage of stones and Molotov cocktails, briefly disrupting police advancement. Berkut special police forces were forced to retreat due to heavy smoke from burning tires.

Two protesters have been killed and hundreds of others wounded during the past four days of clashes. Almost 200 officers have sustained injuries.

Protesters clash with riot police in the center of Kiev on January 22, 2014.(AFP Photo / Anatolii Boiko)

Shocking footage showed rioters armed with sticks and flares attacking cordons of security forces surrounding government buildings. Donned in orange helmets, the protesters threw stones, debris, and Molotovs directly at police.

Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs published a video showing a group of officers being suddenly attacked from behind a fence on Monday.

Petrol bombs are being thrown in the middle of the cordons, settling police uniforms on fire.

As tensions continued to run high in the violent standoff in Kiev on Wednesday, some police officers were seen throwing Molotov cocktails at crowds of protesters.

Interior Ministry members stand in formation in front of burning tyres set ablaze by pro-European protesters during clashes in Kiev January 22, 2014.(Reuters / Stringer)

 A Ukrainian police officer throws a Molotov cocktail during clashes with protesters in the centre of Kiev on January 22, 2014.( AFP Photo / Yuriy Kirnichny)

A riot policeman throws a Molotov cocktail during clashes with pro-European protesters in Kiev January 22, 2014.(Reuters / Gleb Garanich)

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