Fatal shootings raise fears that Ukraine violence will escalate

Two people whose bodies were found yesterday near the site of clashes with police were shot with live ammunition, raising fears that their deaths – the first after two months of largely peaceful protests – could fuel violence on the streets of the Ukrainian capital.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Jan 2014, 16:40 BST

Medics in Kiev said a third man died after he fell from a high point near a sports arena at the site of clashes, but Natalia Vishnevska, spokeswoman for the city health department, said that man survived the fall and was being treated in the hospital.

The deaths fuelled fears that daily protests aimed at bringing down the government over its decision to shun the European Union for closer ties to Moscow and over human rights violations could turn even more violent.

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Premier Mykola Azarov insisted the police did not have live ammunition and opposition leaders should be held responsible.

The three main opposition parties, meanwhile, issued a statement blaming President Viktor Yanukovych and his staunch ally Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko for the deaths.

The mass protests erupted after Mr Yanukovych spurned a pact with the European Union in favour of close ties with Russia, which offered him a $15bn bailout. They swelled to hundreds of thousands after a small peaceful rally was violently broken up by police.

Seeing the government ignore their demands and opposition leaders unable to present a coherent plan or even select a single leader, radical protesters have clashed with riot police in Kiev since Sunday.

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The deaths came on the fourth day of violent street battles between protesters hurling fire bombs and stones and police firing back with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets.

Helmeted riot police moved in on hundreds of protesters, dismantling the barricades, beating many with truncheons and firing shots at some. One man was repeatedly beaten by over a dozen policemen and dark smoke from burning tyres billowed in the air.

The police drove demonstrators down a hill toward the main protest site on Independence Square, where a tent camp ahas been set up. There was no immediate police move on the main camp.

Oleksandr Turchynov, one of the opposition leaders, called on Ukrainians to rush to the centre of Kiev to defend their country. “Ukraine will not be a dictatorship, it will be an independent, European country. Let us defend Ukraine!”

The EU condemned the violence and said it was considering action against the government.

Related topics:UkraineEuropean Union