At Least Two Dead In Ukraine As Police, Protesters Clash
http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-kyiv-protests-azarov-warning/25237720.html
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
January 22, 2014
Ukraine's prosecutor-general has confirmed that two men have died of gunshot wounds as antigovernment unrest in Kyiv continues, the first fatalities since antigovernment protests began two months ago.
Riot police have cleared antigovernment protesters from behind barricades, but pitched battles continue in the streets of the capital, with protesters throwing stones and petrol bombs and police using tear gas and truncheons.
They had stormed the protesters' barricades in Kyiv earlier on January 22 before withdrawing.
Opposition leader Arseny Yatsenyuk has said on Twitter that President Viktor Yanukovych has agreed to meet him and two other opposition leaders this afternoon for talks on the crisis, which escalated quickly after passage last week of a strict new law against protesters
Activists said at least one of the men reported killed was shot dead by police.
The Interior Ministry denied that police used firearms. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said police officers did not have live ammunition.
But Azarov, speaking at a cabinet meeting, said the antigovernment protests had brought "terrorists" onto the streets and warned that all "criminal actions" would be punished.
A medic, Igor Petrovich, said one of the men who was shot had died shortly after he was brought into their makeshift hospital.
"[The cause of his death], according to the preliminary conclusion, are bullet wounds in the neck area, in the back of his head, and in the right side of the chest, the area of lungs," Petrovich said.
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The Prosecutor-General's Office said the body of another dead protester showing gunshot wounds was found on January 22.
A third person had earlier been confirmed dead after falling from a height at the Dynamo football stadium near the site of the violence.
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said Washington has revoked the visas of "several Ukrainians" linked to violence against protesters in November and December. The embassy did not name the individuals.
European leaders urged calm and condemned the violence, but it was unclear if they would follow suit with sanctions or other specific measures.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged an "immediate end" to the escalating violence and called on Ukraine's government and the opposition to "engage in a genuine dialogue."
The protests were triggered by President Viktor Yanukovych's decision in late November to pull back from an agreement on closer ties with the European Union.
New legislation that came into effect on January 22 significantly increases fines and imposes jail terms for Ukrainians found guilty of unauthorized street protests.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and Rossia 24.
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