Though no major incidents were reported on Hrushevsky Street in the center of Kyiv as of 6 a.m. as the standoff continues between protesters and riot police in the Ukrainian capital, Berkut riot police units made several attempts last night to push the protesters back to their start positions.
According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, at around 4 a.m., policemen managed to dismantle a barricade and destroy a catapult, which was built by protesters on Monday evening.
Both sides continue to pelt each other with stun grenades, stones and petrol bombs. Shots can be heard as well.
Several hundred people are present at the scene of the standoff, but only several dozen people, mostly members of far-right groups, are acting. Others are simply watching over.
The previous night also saw clashes in central Kyiv between protesters and so-called “titushky” – athletic young men who frequently play the role of provocateurs. Protesters detained about a dozen of them and brought them to the House of Trade Unions, which was seized by pro-EU demonstrators earlier. These young people have said that they arrived in Kyiv after being promised a reward of Hr 200 each for taking part in possible confrontations.
Reporters were also shown hammers, truncheons and other heavy items that were confiscated from them.
For his part, the opposition UDAR Party leader, former world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, has called on Kyiv residents not to yield to any provocations staged by “titushky” in the city and help maintain public order.
“Titushky are terrorizing Kyiv. But there is no policeman in sight. People need to organize themselves in order to protect public order in the streets. The “titushky” were brought to the capital to set cars on fire, smash shop windows and provoke fights in order to create the impression that it is allegedly the work of the Maidan protesters and to register clashes,” Klitschko was quoted as saying by the UDAR press service.
He accused the Ukrainian authorities of seeking to “create chaos in Kyiv” and destabilize the situation in order to have an excuse for declaring a state of emergency in the city.
