Ukrainian protesters today blockaded government buildings and camped on Kiev’s central square, seeking to oust President Viktor Yanukovych after police brutality and a row over EU ties plunged the country into its worst political crisis in a decade.
Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the protest bore “all the signs of a coup” as tens of thousands of demonstrators dug in their heels in the capital, occupying Kiev city hall and blockading the main government building.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose government has pitted itself against the European Union in a tug-of-war over Ukraine, also denounced the protests, saying they were “more like a pogrom than a revolution”.
But EU powers condemned the crackdown on demonstrators in weekend violence that authorities said left 190 people injured, including police, protesters and more than 40 journalists.
Speaker Volodymyr Rybak said Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, which is controlled by Yanukovych’s ruling party, would tomorrow discuss a vote of no-confidence against the government.
Pro-EU Ukrainians exploded in anger after Yanukovych’s government suddenly announced on November 21 it would not be signing a political and free-trade agreement with the EU that would have marked a break from its Soviet-era master Moscow.
Incensed by police violence during an opposition rally Saturday, more than 100,000 people, led by politicians including world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, poured into the streets of Kiev and other Ukrainian cities on Sunday.
The biggest demonstrations since the pro-democracy Orange Revolution in 2004 degenerated into unprecedented clashes with riot police, who fired stun grenades and smoke bombs at masked demonstrators — who in turn hurled stones and tried to storm Yanukovych’s office.
About 15,000 supporters of closer EU ties camped out Monday in tents on Kiev’s Independence Square.
“We will stay here until the victorious end, until the government, the president and the parliament are removed,” said Stepan Galabar, a 22-year-old protester from the western town of Kolomyia, munching a sandwich in his tent.
Inside the Kiev mayor’s office, protesters prepared food as doctors treated the wounded and young activists napped on the floor. Outside, the words “Revolution headquarters” were spray-painted across the building.
“People are signing up. They are offering their services,” said Tatyana, a 55-year-old protester, saying she had drawn up a list of 1,000 people’s contact details, including doctors.
The prime minister condemned protesters for blockading government buildings.