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Hundreds of police officers have moved in on protest camps in central Kiev, as thousands of demonstrators continue to rally over the government’s suspension of a key EU trade deal. The protests have been underway for almost three weeks.
Go to Part 1 of live updates.
13:22 GMT: Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has confirmed his intention to sign the EU association agreement and to start a dialogue for resolving the crisis in the country, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement.
Ashton then condemned the violence at the protests in Kiev and said that the actions of Ukrainian law enforcers on Tuesday night could hamper the start of the political dialogue.
13:10 GMT: Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has refused to take part in the all-nation round table to discuss the situation in Ukraine. The country’s third president has declared that he condemns the way security forces treated the protesters and would go there to protest as well.
12:48 GMT: Opposition MPs have called on the demonstrators to set the security forces’ buses on fire, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said, as quoted by ITAR-TASS. This refers to three buses that came to the Mayor’s administration building in Kiev to evict protesters. The opposition hosed the buses with water and threw objects like smoke grenades.
12:15 GMT: US assistant secretary of state Victoria Nuland considers the actions of Ukrainian authorities “absolutely impermissible in a democratic society.” She had “tough but realistic talks” with the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, Nuland told reporters. Nuland is currently in Kiev and has met with the opposition on Independence Square.
11:40 GMT: Only a rapprochement is possible in Ukraine-EU relations, not the EU entrance for Ukraine, the European commission said as quoted by the ITAR-TASS news agency. Ukraine also can’t count on any financial help from the EU, the organization’s official representative Olivier Bailly said.
11:03 GMT: The regional council from the western town of Ivano-Frankovsk has decided to move to Kiev for a session to support the popular anti-government and pro-EU protest. About 70 deputies have gone to the Ukrainian capital, Interfax news agency in Ukraine reports.
10:35 GMT: German Foreign Minister Westerwelle spoke out on the situation in Ukraine, calling for an immediate end to violence inflicted by the security forces. “Instead of a ban on protests and the clearing of Maidan Square, a real political dialogue must now be launched, not just continually promised,”Westerwelle said in an official statement.
10:06 GMT: Protesters put up new barricades 30 meters from the police cordon, as opposition leaders call for storming government buildings, the Interior Ministry said.
09:31 GMT: US assistant secretary Victoria Nuland visited Independence Square in Kiev and talked to protesters, a spokesman for the US embassy confirmed as reported by Reuters. Nuland first handed out cookies to protesters, and later approached security forces, giving them bread and cookies, too. The US assistant secretary of state was accompanied by the US ambassador in Ukraine, Jeffrey Payette.
09:15 GMT: Poland summons Ukraine’s ambassador to voice concern over the use of force against protesters in Kiev, the Polish Foreign Ministry said in an official statement.
09:00 GMT: The full settlement of Ukraine’s welfare payment debts is delayed until the end of the year due to protests in Kiev, Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov said. Ukraine also seeks a 20-billion euro aid package from the EU if it were to sign a trade pact with the EU, the premier added. This refers to mutually-profitable investment in the Ukrainian economy, not a non-refundable bailout.
08:37 GMT: There will be no agreements between Ukraine and the Customs Union, Ukrainian Premier Nikolay Azarov said. "No discussions about the Customs Union! No documents will be signed by the government. I want to waive all these speculations,” the prime minister added.
08:15 GMT: While retreating, police forces were attacked by the protesters who used a smoke bomb.
08:12 GMT:
08:09 GMT: Around 10 buses are parked on Independence Square.
08:06 GMT: Canada is set to consider sanctions against Ukraine's President later on Wednesday over the treatment of protesters.
07:55 GMT:
07:40 GMT: Security forces have stepped back from barricades from one side of the building after attempts to storm it.
07:15 GMT: Security forces have begun to storm the Mayoral Administration building to evict protesters who, in their turn, barricaded from inside.
06:45 GMT: Protesters pour water on policemen from the second floor of the mayoral administration. The temperature in Kiev is -10 degrees Celsius.
06:20 GMT: Journalists who spent the night on Maidan are making an appeal to bring the protesters tea, food and blankets, Kyivpost.com reported.
06:18 GMT:
05:50 GMT:
05:30 GMT: Interior Ministry pledges to react appropriately even if protesters breach the law.
05:23 GMT:
04:55 GMT: Security forces on Kiev's Independence Square.
04:35 GMT: The heavy equipment used to clear up the barricades has been taken away from the central streets of Kiev.
04:19 GMT: Watch RT's latest report from the Ukrainian capital:
04:17 GMT: City workers are clearing barricades as police are lined up, waiting.
04:16 GMT: Two central metro stations, Maidan Nezalezhnosti and Khreshchatyk, were closed because of "mass events downtown," the Kyiv Post reported.
04:13 GMT: US Secretary of State John Kerry called for restraint in a statement focusing on the Ukrainian protests.
“We call for utmost restraint. Human life must be protected. Ukrainian authorities bear ful responsibility for the security of the Ukrainian people,” Kerry said. “As church bells ring tonight amidst the smoke in the streets of Kiev, the United States stands with the people of Ukraine.”
“The United States expresses its disgust with the decision of Ukrainian authorities to meet the peaceful protests in Kiev’s Maidan Square with riot police, bulldozers and batons,” the statement continued.
04:05 GMT: Several protesters have been injured on Independence Square, Interfax reported. The exact number is still unknown. Meanwhile, 10 officers were wounded in the clashes, the Kiev Post cited police as saying.
03:20 GMT: Protesters have joined a prayer service, calling on special forces to follow scripture, RT's Irina Galushko reports.
03:04 GMT: EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said that she is still in Kiev and is saddened by the use of force against protesters, according to a Facebook statement. EU representatives in Ukraine said they are contacting local authorities to prevent the use of force against demonstrators, according to a statement posted on the groups’s Facebook page.
02:53 GMT: Ukrainian police say they will not remove the protest camp on Kiev’s Independence Square, but will only clear roads for traffic. The news came after special forces moved in on the protesters occupying the premises early on Wednesday, UNIAN reported.
02:44 GMT: Ukrainian police detained several of the most active protesters out of about 1,000 demonstrators present at Independence Square, RIA Novosti quoted local authorities as saying. Police added that security forces have pushed the protesters towards the stage on Independence Square to avoid any public disturbances.
Authorities added that demonstrators accidentally set one of the tents on fire, and that security forces are helping protesters who are feeling ill from overcrowding or tear gas.
02:29 GMT: There are reports of gas around the barricades on Institutskoy Street in central Kiev, RT’s Irina Galushko tweets.
01:59 GMT: The majority of protesters have gathered around the stage on Independence Square, where opposition leaders are giving speeches and telling demonstrators to retreat from the barricades without the use of force, ITAR-TASS reported.
01:48 GMT: Protesters gave up barricades at the side of Independence Square "without a fight," RT's Irina Galushko reports.
01:40 GMT: Opposition UDAR party leader Vitaly Klitschko spoke from the stage set up on the Independence Square. "We are defending our right to live in free country … We say no to a police state,"Kyiv Post quoted him as saying. Klitschko added that the president must resign.
01:35 GMT: Euromaidan’s twitter feed said it will be a bloody night and encouraged people to come out, RT’s Irina Galushko reported.
01:00 GMT: The standoff in the middle of Independence Square is continuing between police and protesters, with demonstrators linking arms and freezing up.
01:15 GMT: Ukraine’s special forces pushed through the crowds of protesters on Independent Square and divided the demonstrators in half. Both sides are currently continuing the standoff without any other movements.
00:44 GMT: Police are forming a perimeter around the square, preventing people from entering.
00:42 GMT: One of the tents on Independence Square is on fire, RT's Irina Galushko tweeted.
00:32 GMT: City cleaners are following closely behind police, clearing out barricades as officers remove protesters.
00:30 GMT: Some of the protesters remain near City Hall, where prayers are being held.
00:29 GMT: Protesters are shouting, "Tomorrow, there will be a million of us," as they are being pushed out of the way.
00:26 GMT: A group of protesters gathered around a stage to sing Ukraine's national anthem as police encircled them.
00:24 GMT: Another group of special forces began clearing the protesters' barricades on Independence Square from Mihaylovskoy Street.
00:13 GMT: Police began clearing one of the protesters’ barricades at the House of Trade Unions, approaching from the side of Independence Square, RT’s Irina Galushko reported.
23:33 GMT: Police in riot gear begin moving towards Independence Square from Institutska Street.
21:00 GMT: Protesters pour iced water onto the streets of Kiev to prevent troops from entering Independence Square.
20:49 GMT: The Kiev mayor’s office has backed the proposal of a Ukrainian company to set up an ice skating rink on Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) from December 15 to March 15, despite ongoing protests there, Interfax-Ukraine reported, citing local media.
Kiev city authorities have reportedly asked law enforcement bodies to assist with the installations.
Although the ice skating rink was set up in the city center in the past, a previous administrative decision from 2011 chose another square for the rink, the report stated.
It is not clear why Independence Square is preferred this time by the city’s mayor. The move comes despite recent government promises not to stage any winter celebrations in the square, in an effort to avoid tension. While the reaction from Ukrainian protesters on Twitter ranged from irony to outrage, there was no immediate reaction from the opposition.
19:48 GMT: Ukrainian opposition leader Arseny Yatsenyuk of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party has testified on the violent ejection of protesters from Kiev’s Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) at the investigation department of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office.
Yatsenyuk said he testified as a witness of police beating, adding that no charges have been laid against him.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said that all those responsible for violence on Maidan “must undoubtedly be brought to responsibility” and promised that detained protesters charged with minor offenses “will be set free.”
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office also said in a statement that it is considering lightening the pre-trial restrictions of some of those detained during the protests, but warned they will not be exempt from criminal responsibility.
18:54 GMT: EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, discussed “all relevant issues” with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich during their “substantial” 3.5-hour meeting, tweeted Ashton’s spokesman Maja Kocijancic. The EU official is now meeting with opposition leaders, she added.
18:23 GMT: The leader of the Ukrainian opposition Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party, Arseny Yatsenyuk, has called on the Maidan protesters to change their tactics and to switch to “guerilla raids”.
“Our chief goal now is not to let Maidan be dispersed. From here we will make our guerilla raids,”Yatsenyuk said, speaking to several thousand protesters gathered on the square, as quoted by RIA Novosti.
It was not immediately clear what kind of action the opposition leader was implying.
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