About 1,000 protesters clashed with equal numbers of riot police in central Kyiv on Wednesday, July 4, a day after the former Soviet republic's parliament passed a contentious bill upgrading the official status of the Russian language.
Police fired teargas as they tried to push the protesters
away from a building where President Viktor Yanukovich had
planned to hold a news briefing.
Yanukovich called off the briefing, where he was expected to
speak about Ukraine’s hosting of the Euro 2012 soccer
championship, at the last minute, according to Interfax news
agency.
Instead, he called an urgent meeting with parliament speaker
Volodymyr Lytvyn, who tendered his resignation on Wednesday
morning, and leaders of major factions.
