14 DAY TRIAL // After several clashes between protesters and police forces, mirror-themed demonstrations and an unsatisfying approach taken by president Yanukovych, the demonstrations in Ukraine took a violent turn on Sunday.
Hundreds of Ukrainians engaged in an aggressive battle with the riot police in below-zero temperatures, asking for the end of the dictatorship and chanting “Revolution.” Protesters in Kiev used Molotov cocktails to set police buses on fire and show their fury.
Because of the new laws that passed last week that stated the official banning of public protests, the demonstrators decided to leave the mirror approach and peaceful oppositions behind and rallied against the police.
Thousands of people marched towards the Parliament and, despite one of the opposition leaders’ desperate attempt to calm them down, they continued to use flares and Molotov cocktails.
Policemen were beaten and even taken captive by angered protesters that seemed to have no intention of settling down. In response, the riot police started releasing sound and gas grenades, just before deploying a water cannon against people, notes Buzzfeed.
Taking into consideration the fact that there were almost -8 degrees Celsius outside and water cannons are illegal in below zero temperatures, the method only managed to make things worse. According to local publications, rubber bullets were also used on protesters.
Opposition leaders and the European Union asked protesters to end the violent clashes and find a diplomatic way to reach an agreement. Twitter was flooded with official requests to end the repression, “U.S. Embassy Urging Calm and Political Dialogue,” Geoffrey Pyatt wrote.
But Ukrainians answered by asking about the support they so long waited for and about the EU's choice to not impose sanctions of president Yanukovich. The protest continued and demonstrators set almost everything they stumbled upon on fire.
The police chose to open a criminal investigation for “mass rioting” under the new law, anti-government demonstrators facing up to 15 years in jail, but didn't manage to stop the violence. Reports indicated that almost 200,000 people took part in the central Kiev rally, notes the EU Observer, and opposition leaders are believed to have lost their control over the crowds.
Opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk talked about the possibility of a civil war and advised the Ukrainian president not to go on the same road other dictators took, comparing him to former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.