LB.ua chronicles the latest events in Ukraine in English for foreign readers.
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On January 16 The Verkhovna Rada adopted more than a dozen of controversial amendments to the law 'On the Judicial System and Status of Judges' and the procedural laws regarding additional measures to protect the safety of citizens. Most opposition politicians, international organizations and European countries consider these laws a violation of basic constitutional rights of 45 million citizens of Ukraine.
On Sunday, January 19, clashes broke out between Euromaidan protesters and police on Hrushevskoho Street in the centre of Kyiv, after radical protesters decided to break through the police cordon in the direction of the Government House and the Verkhovna Rada.
Police used stun and gas grenades, as well as tear gas. Protesters threw stones at the enforcers. Unrest on Hrushevskoho Street continues for the seventh day.
Five people were killed in clashes on Hrushevskoho Street, but only two deaths were confirmed officially. According to coordinator of Euromaidan medical services Oleg Musiy, four of them died of bullet wounds - to the head, heart, chest and neck.
Currently the opposition leaders - Arseniy Yatsenyuk ('Batkivshchyna'), Vitali Klitschko ('UDAR') and Oleg Tyagnibok ('Svoboda') - are trying to put an end to the political crisis in Ukraine and bloodshed on Hrushevskoho Street.
On Friday, January 24, Euromaidan supporters started seizing buildings of regional state administration all over Ukraine. Some of the attempts were successful.
In the late evening on January 24 clashes on Hrushevskoho Street resumed.
00:39. A body of a policeman with a gunshot wound to the head was found in Goloseyevsky district tonight.
According to the press service of the Interior Ministry, the body was discovered by guards working on the construction site situated close to the crime scene. The guards heard the shots and ran in the direction from where the sounded. Witnesses saw two unidentified men fleeing from the crime scene.
The victim is 27 year-old staff sergeant of civil service department of protection in Goloseyevsky district police department. The policeman was heading home from the office without his weapons. The deceased lived near 'Berkut' riot police hostel.
'One of them was immediately struck with a knife. Captured law enforcers held in the building of Kyiv State City Administration (KSCA). The wounded one has been released and hospitalized, he is being assisted. Fate of another two policemen is unknown', says a statement at the Interior Ministry website.
00:59. Kyiv's Obolonskiy district court sentenced 72-year-old Euromaidan activist Nikolai Danilovich Pasechnik, who is suspected of assaulting 'Berkut' riot police fighters, to two months of detention, reported 'Euromaidan SOS' community in Facebook.
Euromaidan headquarters also expressed condolences to a family of the deceased senior sergeant of civil service department of protection in Goloseyevsky district police department.
'It is a tragedy that must be investigated promptly and professionally. Murder can not be justified. Unfortunately, every day we get tragic reports of deaths. It's a shame to admit that these deaths occurred because of the authorities failure to hear their own people, common sense and do everything necessary to resolve the acute crisis', says Euromaidan statement.
At the same time, national resistance headquarters asked the police not to resort to provoking situations by 'propagating false and dangerous news, in particular about the alleged attack of the Maidan self-defense on police officers'.
02:38. Deputy Yaroslav Suhiy plans to withdraw his letter of resignation from the ruling Party of Regions on Satuday, January 25.
On Friday Suhiy was detained by a group of unidentified young men on the road from Morshin, where he was vacationing with his wife. The deputy was taken to a house of culture in one of the local villages and was made to write the letter of resignation from the ruling party. After that he was made to read the letter at the camera.
Now he's heading to Kyiv, where on Saturday morning he plans to make an official announcement that he was forced to write a letter of resignation and to withdraw it.
02:58. Prime Minister Nykolai Azarov said that President Viktor Yanukovich's rating exceeds the overall ratings of the opposition leaders - Arseniy Yatsenyuk ('Batkivshchyna'), Vitali Klitschko ('UDAR') and Oleg Tyagnibok ('Svoboda').
'They say they aren't satisfied with these negotiations. Of course, if they say to the President: 'immediately resign', nobody will agree, because there is the Constitution. And then... Who do they, by and large, represent? 15 million voters voted for the President in the last elections, and he is legitimately elected leader. So, should we surrender to the opposition on its first demand? It can't be that way. Moreover the President's rating exceeds the overall ratings of the three opposition leaders. He enjoys the confidence in the country, his positions are strong', said the prime minister in an interview to Russian RBC during the World Economic Forum in Davos.
'How can we talk about any elections, if in eight months the next elections begin? What elections can we hold when there is an orgy of violence in the country? Elections are only possible in a calm atmosphere', he added.
According to the most recent survey, conducted in December 2013, Viktor Yanukovich's rating is 20.2%. Vitali Klitschko's rating is 18.6%, Arseniy Yatsenyuk's - 9.4% , Oleg Tyagnibok's - 5.1%. Moreover, according to the same survey, Viktor Yanukovich will lose to each of these candidates in the second round of the presidential elections.
03:30. On Friday, about 08:00 pm, eight trucks were transporting eight vehicles, similar to military APCs, to Kyiv, wrote chief editor of Avto.TSN.ua Vitaly Maksimov in Facebook.
03:52. Ultras of Kharkov 'Metalist' will hold a rally in support of local Euromaidan on Saturday, January 25.
05:15. Several thousand residents of Sumi on Friday prevented local regional council from adopting scandalous statement, expressing support for the actions of the President and calling opposition protesters in Kyiv 'extremists'.
05:37. Obolonskiy district court of Kyiv considers cases of detained AutoMaidan and Euromaidan activists. Most people are assigned a preventive measure in the form of arrest for a period of two months, and two activists were placed under house arrest.
His body was found there early in the morning on January 21, after he had been kidnapped along with civic activist Igor Lutsenko.
Almost in 15 hours after his abduction Igor Lutsenko found himself in a forest near Kyiv, where he was brought and thrown by his kidnappers. Later he was brought for medical examination to 'Boris' clinic.
His lawyer Eugenia Zakrevskaya told LB.ua that his internal organs had been damaged. He also had an eye injury, three of his teeth knocked out and multiple bruises on the body. He could hardly walk because his kidnappers had beaten him on legs and heels.
06:25. Clashes on Hrushevskoho Street resumed on Friday evening. Police fired rubber bullets at opposition protesters and wounded one activist. In response activists started launching fireworks and Molotov cocktails towards law enforcers, as well as setting barricades made of tires on fire. Moreover, the demonstrators began to use large rubber slingshot.
This night was accompaniment by the beating of the drums, from time to time situation grew tense, but nothing really bad happened.
It was also reported that one of the shops located on Hrushevskoho Street to the right hand of barricades, was set on fire.
07:00. Euromaidan SOS reported that at least three Euromaidan activists were detained for transporting tires in the trunks of their cars. Now they are being held in Solomyanskyi police department in Kyiv.
Law enforcers threaten to accuse them of inciting riots.
07:43. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Ukraine's unity today is under question.
08:20. Group of priests and laity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church called on politicians and Ukrainians to refrain from unlawful acts, as the situation in Ukraine has escalated to the limit.
08:37. European politicians who have influence on the Ukrainian opposition, could help in resolving the situation in the country, stated Prime Minister Nykolai Azarov in Davos, according to the website of the Cabinet of Ministers.
09:23. Three days after the killing of two protesters on Hrushevskoho Street in Kyiv by firearms, the police did not receive any messages from those who might have witnessed these events, stated deputy chief of the Investigations Department of the Interior Ministry Vitaly Sakal.
10:09. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed concern about the violent seizure of administrative buildings in the western regions of Ukraine and called on the West for a balanced approach to the Ukrainian events.
In addition, the Interior Ministry said that a third police officer, who was kidnapped along with them, is in hospital: he has a knife wound of the chest cavity with lung injury.
In this context, the ministry called on the protesters to release the policemen, and leave the building of Kyiv State City Administration (KSCA) of 'the police will be forced to apply measures to liberate those captured las enforcers.
10:29. 285 law enforcement officers have sought medical help since the start of clashes between riot police and opposition protesters on Hrushevskoho Streer. 104 of whom were hospitalized with complicated injuries.
10:42. 'Dialogue between the government and the opposition should continue since it is the only way out of the crisis in the country', said representative of the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich in the Verkhovna Rada, lawmaker Yuriy Miroshnichenko.
10:51. President Viktor Yanukovich dismissed the head of Kyiv City State Administration Alexander Popov at request of the General Prosecutor's Office on suspicion of his involvement in the violation of the constitutional rights of the citizens who where on Kyiv's Independence Square on November 30, reported the press service of the President.
11:07. Vinnitsa residents have seized local regional state administration building.
11:17. Opposition activists have seized a building of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry in Kyiv.
11:24. European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule named concrete steps on resolving the current crisis in Ukraine: to restore confidence of the citizens and to start a comprehensive political process to restore stability in the country.
A few days doctors fought for his life, but the injuries were too severe. He was severely wounded in the lungs, underwent several operations, had his arm amputated', said chairman of Lvov regional organization 'Svoboda', lawmaker Irina Seh.
Roman Senik was 45 years old. He comes from Yavorivschiny last years he lived in the city of Turku. His funeral on Yavorovschine.
12:17. A video showing 'Berkut' riot police fighters beating opposition activists at the Colonnade of Dynamo Stadium has been published on the Internet.
12:40. 'There can be only one solution to Ukranian political crisis - peaceful. Any military option, any use of weapons is unacceptable', says a statement of Rinat Akhmetov's SCM released on Saturday.
12:46. There are no opposition protesters in the building of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry in Kyiv, they occupy only a yard of the ministry, reports LB.ua correspondent from the scene.
At the same time Energy Minister Eduard Stawicki told journalists that he obeys the legitimately elected President. According to him, the building of ministry was seized by armed terrorists seized, and he immediately contacted all nuclear power plants so that their management could lead people to a safe distance. He also assured journalists that the building is protected by a special unit 'Alfa', but reporters saw only employees of a private security firm.
12:52. Chernihov residents are picketing a building of local regional state administration.
13:10. AutoMaidan announced a reward of $10 thousand to anyone whose information will help find AutoMaidan leader Dmitry Bulatov and save his life. On January 22 Dmity's relatives reported him missing.
13:22. Euromaidan self-defense group detained a coordinator of 'titushki' (AntiMaidan provocateurs) - strong bald middle-aged man, stated the opposition faction 'Batkivshchyna' lawmaker and Euromaidan activist Ilya Sagaidak.
'We caught him near Mariinsky Park. He was giving certain tasks to the groups of provocateurs, and sent them to different parts of Hrushevskoho Street. When we arrested him, we took him to the headquarters and talked to him, he gave us a phone number of his contact. We recorded conversation on a phone. The man whom we talked to, and who directs 'titushki' introduced himself as a policeman - lieutenant colonel', said Sagaidak.
According to the activist, the policeman began to threaten Euromaidan activists by articles of the Criminal Code for the illegal imprisonment of his people and their illegal confinement. At the same time he stressed that he is responsible for them in front of the main department of the Interior Ministry in Kyiv.
'Of course, colonel didn't mention his full name. But he demanded to immediately release people we detained', added Sagaidak.
13:49. The Presidential Administration has prepared the decision to impose a state of emergency in the country, according to the statement of the Headquarters of the national resistance (Euromaidan - ed.), reported the press service of 'Batkivshchyna' opposition faction.
14:07. Opposition protesters who seized a building of Vinnytsia Regional State Administration are building barricades to prevent the police assault. Law enforcers near the building take no action.
14:11. Police detained seven people who bought firewood in the store in Kyiv's Obolon district.
At first law enforcers also detained woman - passerby. Later she was released, and her friend contacted LB.ua.
'It happened at the entrance to 'Cosmos', the second stage of 'Dream Town'. Men-buyers were walking with some carts to their car, black Volkswagen van. There was wood, coal and food in their carts. At this moment the police arrived - they were in black uniforms with the word 'Police' on the back. They detained seven men with shopping carts and my girlfriend at the same time. They were taken to a three-storey building in Obolon, where they were questioned by people in civilian clothes. Later she was taken back to where she had been detained and was released. When she demanded them to tell her who they were, and why had they detained those seven men, she said something like: 'Don't get too smart or you'll be where they are, and you know yourself, what the situation is in the country'.
14:30. Tonight office of the ruling Party of Regions in Rovne was set on fire. No one was hurt.
14:34. Lawmaker Anatoly Gritsenko urged gun owners to protect Euromaidan.
Participants of Euromaidan national conference voted almost unanimously in favor of his proposal.
'Those who resort to such violence, lose the remnants of trust. The European Union must make it clear that it doesn't accept the use of force. If there is no agreement, the EU does not exclude the freezing of bank accounts and travel restrictions on the Ukrainian leadership', said Schultz.
However, he insists that the initiative group of the EU should help resolve the conflict. Brussels 'should help to cut this knot in Kyiv', he added.
15:29. Poltava residents have seized a building of the regional state administration (RSA).
As of January 25, Euromaidan activists have captured RSA buildings in eight Ukrainian regions. Among them: Lvov, Ternopol, Ivano-Frankovsk, Rovno, Chernovtsi, Volyn, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky regions.
Moreover, in the recent days opposition activists also blocked RSA buildings in Cherkassy, Sumy and Chernihov.
15:41. Euromaidan supporters have broken to Chernihov RSA building by prying one of the entrance doors.
The protesters demand Udovychenko to resign and exit the ruling Party of Regions, but he says he doesn't intend to meet these requirements.
16:09. The opposition party 'Svoboda' has set its own security in a hotel 'Ukraine' on Instytutska Street in the centre of Kyiv, reported the press service of the party.
'Activists of All-Ukrainian Union 'Svoboda' secured hotel 'Ukraine'. We've learned from reliable sources about a planned provocation and violence against foreign journalists... A group of 'tutushki' pretending to be Euromaidan activists and under the cover of security services were planning to break into the hotel 'Ukraine' and commit mayhem and slaughter of foreign journalists there', said the party's statement.
According to 'Svoboda' activist, the decision is in accord with the hotel administration. He also stressed that this is not the capture of the building.
Currently there are about ten opposition activists in the building. Their number will vary depending on the situation.
16:46. Opposition activists are building a new barricade in Park alley. When law enforcement forces began approaching their positions moving through so called 'Bridge of Lovers', activists set another bonfire of tires. As a result, 'Bridge of lovers' caught fire.
17:05. Two police officers, allegedly captured by Euromaidan self-defense on Independence Square, have been released and hospitalized, stated Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko, reported the press service of the Interior Ministry.
17:16. Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko said that opposition protesters in the center of Kyiv will be considered as extremists. Thus, in case of danger the Interior Ministry will have to use force, he said.
17:33. The ruling Party of Regions deputy Vadym Kolesnichenko is taking his family out of Kyiv because of the latest events in the capital.
17:45. The opposition is going to appeal to the Council of Europe asap to create a special commission to examine the current situation in Ukraine and will pass the results of its research to the Hague judicial institutions, stated the opposition faction 'Batkivshchyna' lawmaker Pavel Petrenko at a press briefing. According to him, relevant statements are being prepared.
17:59. Deputies of Volyn regional council took the decision to recognize the National Rada (created by the opposition) as a collegial body, authorized to represent the interests of the Ukrainian people.
18:06. Tonight there was a clash between 'titushki' and Euromaidan supporters in Kharkov, told local opposition activist Alexei Andreev to LB.ua.
'Titushki' attacked the protesters near one of the buildings of the local university. There were many women among Euromaidan protesters attacked by a group of sporty guys, consisting of about 100 people. A distinctive feature of the attackers were St. George ribbons. During the attack, they smashed a camera of one of the journalists.
After a brief fight the police intervened and accompanied the protesters to the endpoint of the route - the monument to Taras Shevchenko.
No one was detained.
18:20. Prime Minister Nykolai Azarov requires a new head of Kyiv City State Administration Vladimir Makeenko to adopt a balanced budget for the capital.
18:33. About a hundred employees of the internal troops have occupied Ukrainian House, which is located at Krecshatik Street 2 (in the centre of Kyiv).
18:46. Lvov regional council recognized the National Rada (opposition's alternative to the Verkhovna Rada - ed.), and created its own executive committee and municipal squad, reported the press service of the opposition 'Svoboda' faction in Lvov.
In addition to the President, the meeting was attended by the head of the PA, workgroup manager Andrey Klyuyev, first deputy head of the PA Andriy Portnov, Justice Minister Alena Lukash as well as representatives of the opposition - 'UDAR' leader Vitali Klitschko, 'Batkivshchyna' chairman Arseniy Yatsenyuk and 'Svoboda' leader Oleg Tyagnibok.
The meeting lasted more than three hours.
'This is the meeting of the faction. Everyone who wanted and who was in Kyiv and was able to come, they are at the meeting', told 'regional' Serhey Kivalov to reporters near the PA building.
19:21. A creation of new authority - Vinnytsia National Rada - has been announced in Vinnytsia.
19:33. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich offered the post of Prime Minister to the opposition faction 'Batkivshchyna' leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said Minister of Justice Elena Lukash on the outcome of talks between Viktor Yanukovich and the opposition leaders, the presidential press service reported.
'UDAR' leader Vitali Klitschko was offered to become Vice Prime Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, said Lukash.
According to Yanukovich, joint work with the opposition will help the state to unite and undertake all the necessary reforms to the state and society.
19:40. Events on Hrushevskoho Street on January 24-25 in photos.
19:50. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich agreed to change the Constitution and is ready to create a working group to transition to a parliamentary-presidential republic, stated the first deputy head of the Presidential Administration Andrey Portnov according to the presidential press service.
20:26. President Viktor Yanukovich and the opposition factions leaders reached an agreement on the adoption of the amnesty law that will indemnify all participants of protests over the entire period of the political crisis in Ukraine.
'President agreed to this proposal, and we believe that thr authorities could support the decision of the majority factions with the full release of all the captured facilities at all corners of the country, including at the Independence Square', said deputy head of the Presidential Administration Andrey Portnov.
According to him, the opposition must also make demonstrators leave Hrushevskoho Street.
21:33. President Viktor Yanukovich sacked his press secretary Darka Chepak. The reasons for dismissal are unknown.
The President also signed a decree releasing Andrei Yermolayev from a post of a director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies.
22:24. President Viktor Yanukovyih suggested that the opposition leaders do not quite control Euromaidan in Kyiv and protests in the regions at a meeting with members of the ruling Party of Regions and the Communist Party.
'Viktor Yanukovich suggested that the next step is to find international mediators', told a source in the ruling party to LB.ua.
22:31. President Viktor Yanukovich hasn't discussed the imposition of a state of emergency at the meeting with the deputies of the ruling Party of Regions and the Communist Party, told a source in the ruling party to LB.ua.
22:50. The opposition faction 'UDAR' leader Vitali Klitschko addressed the protesters from Euromaidan's stage. He said that he was ready to continue negotiations with President Viktor Yanukovich and named the opposition's demands.
'Our requirements: to hold presidential elections later this year. And we will not back down. We'll keep our position on the Maidan and the regions. There are no extremists here. We are peaceful people, who protect their rights and their demands. Negotiations are continuing. And we must hold on. We'll hold on and we won't give up to any provocations. I'm telling you this. Thanks to everyone for their courage. Glory to Ukraine!', said Vitali Klitschko.
23:23. About 1500 opposition protesters approached an entrance to 'Ukrainian House' on European Square in Kyiv with a demand that law enforcers clear off the building. So far, no one has stormed the building.
23:31. Viktor Yanukovich didn't offer Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Vitali Klitschko government positions directly, reported LB.ua sources in the Verkhovna Rada.
23:51. The protesters are storming 'Ukrainian House' on European Square in the centre of Kyiv.
Protesters use powerful pyrotechnics against the police. In response police uses stun grenades and tear gas. 'Berkut' riot police fighters and the Interior Ministry troops have blocked themselves inside the building.
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