Kiev protesters seize Justice Ministry building after day of calm
Protesters in Kiev seized the Justice Ministry building near Independence Square on Sunday, following a day of calm. It comes one day after rioters seiged a convention center in the capital where police were stationed.
Rioters seized the building on Sunday evening. “At 22:38 security in the building called in an attempted seizure of the building. Information was confirmed, the building remains seized,” police said, according to Unian news agency.
Local media reported that no one was hurt during the seizure of the building. Following the incident, activist group Common Cause claimed responsibility for the seizure, posting a message on their Facebook page.
Ukrainian Justice Minister Elena Lukash has said she will ask the National Security and Defense Council to introduce a state of emergency if rioters do not leave the ministry building.
"If the protesters do not leave the Justice Ministry building in half an hour I will ask the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to impose the state of emergency,” she told Inter TV channel.
Lukash said the ministry building was captured just when the last amendments were being made to the law “On Changes to the Constitution of Ukraine” in order to return to the 2004 text of the constitution.
According to AFP, the group entered the building without any resistance and is currently building a system of barricades just outside the building. Common Cause is reportedly the same group that earlier occupied the Energy and Agricultural Ministries.
UDAR party leader Vitaly Klitschko entered the building, Interfax reported.
Sunday began with a ceasefire in Kiev as protesters reinforced barricades and mourned a deceased protester. Sunday demonstrations were called off to allow for the funeral procession, RT’s Alexey Yaroshevsky reported.
Several foreign diplomats - including European, US, and Canadian ambassadors - “inspected” Kiev’s Independence Square on Sunday and spoke to representatives of the radical Right Sector group, the press service of the opposition Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party said in a statement.
http://rt.com/news/kiev-protest-clashes-updates-862/
The Ukrainian capital has been gripped by weeks of anti-government protests which have seen violent clashes between rioters and police. Unrest is also spreading beyond Kiev as the opposition and government struggle to end the crisis.
Sunday, January 26
21:59 GMT:
Rioters in Ukraine have seized one of the Justice Ministry’s buildings in central Kiev near Independence Square, police reported. “At 22:38 security in the building called in an attempted seizure of the building. Information was confirmed, the building remains seized,” Unian news agency quoted the police as saying.
20:53 GMT:
Opposition leaders in Ukraine have no idea how to end the crisis, a member of parliament with the ruling Party of Regions, Vadim Kolesnichenko, told ITAR-TASS. "Regrettably, last night in Kiev demonstrated that the opposition leaders are unable to fulfill the obligations they have undertaken," he said.
"Arseniy Yatsenyuk's [leader of the opposition Batkivshchina party] statement that he is ready to head the Ukrainian government to continue the European integration course looks treacherous after the turmoil the protesters staged at the Ukrainian House in European Square. It looks like the opposition leaders have neither any idea nor solutions how to get out of the current situation," Kolesnichenko added.
20:28 GMT:
On Sunday, several foreign diplomats - including European, US, and Canadian ambassadors - “inspected” Kiev’s Maidan and spoke to representatives of the radical “Right Sector” group, the press service of the opposition Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party said in a statement.
The diplomats are “convinced” that the protests in central Kiev are “not dangerous” and that protesters do not have “stockpiles of arms,” the report says. They also allegedly agreed that “beasts” and “armed gangs” were responsible for the violence, while protesters “are defending their rights and dignity.”
Officials arrived around the time of a memorial service for a deceased Maidan activist, due to which a Sunday rally was cancelled in central Kiev and violent riots ceased. It is not clear whether the diplomats planned their arrival time accordingly.
17:39 GMT:
Russia’s embassy in Ukraine has refuted rumors claiming that Russian special forces have been dispatched to Kiev to deal with the protesters.
“In connection with allegations circulated by some Ukrainian mass media about the arrival of Russian special forces to Kiev, the press service of the Russian embassy stresses that such reports have nothing to do with the reality and are provocative by nature,” the embassy said in a statement.
The Russian diplomatic mission has also called on mass media to be careful not to fall into the trap of reporting false information intentionally provided by some individuals.
16:49 GMT:
At least 311 police officers have been injured in the Kiev riots, 118 of whom have been hospitalized with head injuries, fractures, burns, and stab and slash wounds. Some have also been poisoned by “unknown substances,” the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said in a Sunday statement.
The ministry’s press service also informed UNIAN news agency that 116 people have been detained in connection with the mass riots in central Kiev and that a criminal investigation into “mass disorder” on Grushevskogo Street has been opened.
Several people who were previously convicted, including those who have been charged with especially grave crimes, are among the detained.
The ministry’s press service also informed UNIAN news agency that 116 people have been detained in connection with the mass riots in central Kiev and that a criminal investigation into “mass disorder” on Grushevskogo Street has been opened.
Several people who were previously convicted, including those who have been charged with especially grave crimes, are among the detained.
15:45 GMT:
Pope Francis on Sunday called for “constructive dialogue” in Ukraine, saying he was praying in the Vatican for the country and for those who have lost their lives in the ongoing unrest there. Following the Pope’s speech to thousands of faithful who gathered in St. Peter’s Square, two doves were released by children standing alongside his holiness.
However, as soon as the birds of peace took off, they were immediately attacked by a crow and a seagull. The crowd gasped as one dove broke free from the gull, losing some feathers, and another one was repeatedly pecked at by the crow. It was not clear what happened to the doves after they flew off.
http://rt.com/news/opposition-ukraine-rejects-proposal-203/
Opposition leaders called for an early presidential election following a Saturday meeting with the government, where top government posts were offered to protest leaders and a review of the constitution was promised.
Read RT's timeline of the Ukrainian clashes.
The proposal to offer positions within the Ukrainian government to opposition leaders will be considered by all three parties and discussed with the people, Batkivschina leader Arseny Yatsenyuk said.
“We are not rejecting the offer, nor are we accepting it. We are in the midst of serious consultations between all three opposition parties. This is our mutual decision,” he said. “We are ready to take on the responsibility for the country’s future, but only under the conditions that will be set by us.”
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