Protests Rock Ukraine as the Country Teeters On the Brink of Revolution

Ukraine is on the brink of anarchy and revolution tonight as hundreds of thousands of demonstrators demanded the resignation of pro-Russian authoritarian president Viktor Yanukovych.

There were deep fears that the popular uprising could spark a bloody crackdown and state of emergency from the frightened authorities.

‘A revolution is starting in Ukraine,’  declared opposition leader Oleh Tyagnybok, as a national strike was called for tomorrow in support of early presidential and parliamentary elections.

‘The government and president must resign,’ demanded world boxing champion turned opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, as he urged police to disobey orders from the authorities.

‘Do not work against the people,’ he demanded.

Former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko told more than 300,000 protestors in central Kiev: ‘Our plan is clear: this is no longer a rally or a protest. This is a revolution.’

Police used tear gas, truncheons and stun grenades in a bid to halt protesters who used a bulldozer seeking to storm Yanukovych’s presidential administration.

Outrage erupted in Ukraine, the largest country in eastern Europe with a population of 46 million, after hardline president Yanukovych was accused of obeying a strong-arm demand by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and vetoing a pact for closer ties with the EU.

Many pro-Westerners see the move as a step back to Ukraine’s bleak Soviet past preventing it one day joining the European Union.

A bloody riot police crackdown on 1,000 peaceful protesters in central Kiev in the early hours of Saturday morning led to even more fury against the Ukrainian leader, even though he publicly distanced himself from the violent crackdown, and law enforcement chiefs apologised.

The people power protest today – which saw some public offices including the Kiev mayor’s HQ occupied by demonstrators – was in defiance of a court order banning  gatherings in Independence Square, iconic scene of the Orange Revoution of 2004 against vote-rigging by Yanukovych’s henchmen.

Opposition activists claimed the security forces were deliberately staging violent provocations to give  excuses for the authorities to stage a crackdown.

‘We know that the president wants to declare a state of emergency in the country,’ warned former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk.

Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko vowed to ‘harshly’ crackdown on ‘mass disturbances’.

The embattled president is due to fly to Russia this week to sign a ‘roadmap’ of new co-operation with Moscow. Coming just days after Ukraine rejected closer ties with the EU, this is likely to provoke further anger among protesters who believe their country will fall under Kremlin subjugation.

Main opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko remains in jail on what Western governments deem to be bogus political charges. She urged Ukrainians to maintain their protests against Yanukovych.

Lutsenko urged Ukrainians from the regions to surge on Kiev.  ‘We are not changing the president. We are changing the system of governance. We are changing Ukraine,’ he said.

Klitschko demanded Yanukovych’s toppling, warning of a government deaf to democracy which ‘use police to beat people instead of protecting the law’.

Yatsenyuk alleged the president ‘personally issued the instruction to beat people and killed our European dream. We are going to stand here until the demands of the Ukrainian people are met.’

‘I want my children to live in a country where they don’t beat young people,’ said protester Andrey, 33.

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called on Kiev authorities to respect Ukrainians’ right to free expression and assembly, which are ‘fundamental to a healthy democracy’.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also issued a strongly-worded statement saying: ‘I vigorously call on the Ukrainian government to ensure freedom of assembly.’

Meanwhile, topless women from the Femen feminist movement urinated on pictures of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in Paris to condemn a crackdown on protesters angry about his rejection of a key EU deal.

Five women from the group gathered in front of the Ukrainian embassy in the morning, bared their breasts and then took off their knickers to defile the photographs they placed on the sidewalk.

The slogan ‘Yanukovych p*** off!’ was painted on their torsos.