KIEV, Feb 19: Riot police launched a fresh assault on protesters in central Kiev today, escalating a bloody standoff that has already left at least 18 people dead in a dramatic turning point for Ukraine’s three-month political crisis.
A volley of tear gas rained down on protesters and more tents went up in flames as riot squads took up position around a monument in the centre of Independence Square shortly after 4:00am.
Protesters, who have camped out on the square for nearly three months, dug up paving stones and hurled Molotov cocktails in a desperate bid to repel the onslaught after hours of bloody clashes.
A wall of smoke and flames rose up into the icy night air as lines of police and protesters, both clutching shields and clad in helmets and body armour, faced off in an apocalyptic scene.
The surge in violence, in a country torn between a future allied to the West or to Russia, sparked alarm in Europe and the United States.
However a defiant President Viktor Yanukovych refused calls to halt the ferocious assault on the bloodiest day since protests broke out in November, when he ditched a pact with the EU in favour of closer ties with former Soviet master Russia.
In an address to the nation as clashes raged, he said the opposition had gone too far and accused them of trying to oust him.
“The leaders of the opposition have disregarded the principle of democracy according to which we obtain power through elections and not on the street … They have crossed the limits by calling for people to take up arms,” he said, adding those responsible would face the law.
Kiev was essentially in lockdown as authorities halted the city’s metro system and limited road traffic coming into the capital.
Police said nine officers had died from gunshot wounds, while authorities and medics counted nine civilian deaths since Tuesday morning.
Another two civilians were found dead, but their bodies showed no exterior signs of violence, making it unclear how they had died.
More than 150 people were injured, including dozens of police officers, some with serious wounds.
“If we hold on until morning, we have a chance to make it out,” one protester said. (AGENCIES)
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