RIOTS IN DOWNTOWN KYIV – ongoing updates.
Large groups of Maidan activists walked in a procession to the Verkhovna Rada [Parliament], demanding reinstatement of the 2004 version of the Ukrainian Constitution. The area was surrounded by law enforcement. The situation escalated fast.
Right now, clashes continue between protesters and law enforcement, aided by titushkas [hired thugs]. The police used traumatic weapons and stun grenades. As of 18-30, Kyiv time, NINE people are dead, hundreds injured. The situation continues to escalate.
Earlier updates:
– Events of the Morning 08:55-11:00
– Events of the Morning 11:06-12:01
– Events of the Afternoon 12:01-12:45
– Events of the Afternoon 12:44-15:50
More photographs of today’s events by REUTERS:
15.30
Svyatoslav Tsegolko:
[VIDEO]
The situation has spiraled completely out of control. I haven’t seen such brutality even in Kosovo. Who gave the order to attack the protesters from the back, at the corner of Instytutska St. and Shovkovych St.? These poor boys from interior troops became cannon fodder. Their commanders have been driven to the brink, as have the protesters. Look into the eyes of this commander, looking for one of his men. Look at the wounded girls, hit by snipers. You who are in power – is your power worth all these human lives?
16:23 – Subway Shut Down
Euromaydan on Facebook:
The subway is stopped, entrances to Kyiv are being blocked. The city is being locked down, to stop people coming to aid. The government advances, it’s preparing a deadly scenario, which is being played out right now, in the government quarter and on Maidan. OUR FATE IS BEING DECIDED THERE!
16:52
Gosha Tykhy, via Facebook::
A woman lying dead on the barricade near Khreschatyk subway, upper exit. Yanukovych is f—ed, he’ll be killed, he signed his own death warrant.
16:23
Boys tell me on the phone that around Mariyinsky park, Anti-Maidaners started trashing house entrances and apartments. Why I’m telling you this, Kyiv – don’t try to sit this one out. This will come to everyone’s door. The more of us pile on now, the sooner we’ll win. Let’s do this – for us and ours, for you and yours!
Meanwhile, on the Ukrainian TV…
STB – Master Chef
1+1, Ukraine, ICTV, Novy, NTN, 2+2, TET – sitcoms and other TV shows
Inter – Family Court (legal-themed talk show)
First National Channel – talking about Maidan, with a guest in the studio
16:38
Artem Shevchenko:
Bodies of killed protesters. One of them has a name badge.
Three bodies taken from the battlefiend next to the Rada to the medical post in the Officer House. The rightmost one has gunshot entry wounds.
16:52
CRIME.in.UA:
Law Enforcers Prepare to Shoot Euromaidan. Attack Scheduled for 18:00
The government threatens to use force and act harshly, unless Euromaidan disperses by 18:00. Based on the joint statement of the heads of the SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] and the MIA [Ministry of Internal Affairs], a forceful crackdown is in the works.
Olexander Yakymenko (Head of the SBU) and Vitaliy Zakharchenko (Head of the MIA) called for an immediate cessation of the armed conflict in downtown Kyiv and for a return to the negotiations. Unless the riots stop, the SBU and the MIA “will be forced to act harshly.”
17:05
Euromaidan Community Sector, via Facebook::
– 2 more people killed near the Khreschatyk metro station (man and woman) on Institutska street
– about 40 min. ago ALL underground metro stations closed, people evacuated
– about 20 min. ago road on Brovary closed, Suvorova, Ivana Mazepy streets are closed
– riot police are closely coordinating with “titushky”, who are now armed with weapons. A lot of snipers are on rooftops. Bullets from the weapons used by police are all over the ground.
17:15
EuroMaydan on Twitter:
Channel 5 reports that the police are equipping with AK-74’s. The government has de facto announced war on its own people.
17:31
Some of the killed protesters are identified
One of the victims, a man, carried a pension ID N АІІІ848773, issued in Kirovograd to Mr. Mykola Nikitin. Additionally, he had a Georgian passport, issued to Mr. Zurab KHURTSIA N620075680, issued by the Embassy of Georgia in Ukraine. Date of birth is July 29, 1960. The photographs in both documents are identical and are a likeness of the victim.
The second victim is a middle-aged woman. She had an ID of a liquidator of the Chernobyl disaster N073155, name of Antonina Dvoryanets.
Earlier today, Olga Bohomolets, a doctor and community activist confirmed the death of three protesters during clashes with the law enforcement in Kyiv on 18.02.
Meanwhile, the US Ambassador in Ukraine…
We believe #Ukraine’s crisis can still be solved via dialogue, but those on both sides who fuel violence will open themselves to sanctions.
— Geoffrey Pyatt (@GeoffPyatt) February 18, 2014
Does this mean that in the end, the sanctions will be imposed against the opposition?
Deceased identified as of 18:30:
1. Serhiy Didych, Svoboda party (Horodenka, Ivano-Frankivst oblast)
2. Andriy Korchak (Striy, Lviv oblast) – died in hospital (information from MP M.Apostol)
3. Mykola Nikitin, born 1960 (carried a pension ID N АІІІ848773 issued in Kirovograd, and also carried a Georgian passport issued to Mr. Zurab KHURTSIA)
4. Antonina Dvoryanets (carried a Chernobyl liquidator ID N 073155)
5. Volodymyr Kischuk (Zaporizzhya oblast)
6. Serhiy Shapoval (Kyiv)
According to the preliminary information, the total number of victims as of 18:30 was nine. This was confirmed by the official statement of the police press center:
Nine people, seven civilians and two policemen, died in this morning’s clashes between protesters and police, reports the press center of the Kyiv police. “One person was suffocated by the smoke. Three victims were found in the Officers House; two died of gunshot wounds and one died of injuries sustained in a road accident. One person succumbed to gunshot wounds while in the care of an ambulance. Two people died of heart attacks during the dispersal on Instytutska Street,” said the press center.
The press center also reports that two policemen have died of gunshot wounds: one in the ambulance, and another in the hospital. (from EuromaidanPR)
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