Two citizens of Poland have been hurt during attempts by riot police to disperse a peaceful rally on Kyiv's Independence Square, the so-called Euromaidan, Polish mass media reported.
Berkut riot police officers used force against a Polish journalist and a Polish top manager who works in Ukraine.
The victims turned to Poland’s Kyiv-based consulate for assistance and are now there, the media said.
“Dozens of people were injured when the police were trying to eliminate the rally of European integration supporters on Kyiv’s Independence Square. Among those injured are Poles,” the Polish TVN24 channel’s Web site said in a posting.
According to the posting, injured were Polish journalist Tomasz Piechal and Director at a Polish company for Ukraine Jacek Zabrocki.
“I was quietly sitting on the Maidan [Independence Square] with a scarf with the word “Poland” on my neck. Suddenly I saw Berkut police officers and heard someone cry “The Internationale!”, and at the very moment there was a hit in my head with a stick. I fell to the ground. People dragged me into an ambulance car,” Zabrocki is quoted as saying.
“They’ve been beating us very aggressively, ignoring the fact that there were elderly people and students, in fact, children. They’ve been beating with batons with all their might,” Piechal said in turn.
The journalist said he had also got several hits in his head from police officers.
