ウクライナでは、ヤヌコービッチ政権がＥＵ＝ヨーロッパ連合への加盟に向けた動きから、隣国ロシアとの関係強化に軸足を移したことに対して、去年１１月から野党勢力や市民が抗議デモを続けています。
１８日には、首都キエフで議会に向けて行進していたデモ隊を警察が阻止したことをきっかけに大規模な衝突となり、デモ隊が与党「地域党」の本部を火炎瓶などで襲撃すると、警察もゴム弾や音や光が出る手りゅう弾などで応酬しました。
また、１８日の夜になっても、デモ隊の拠点となっているキエフ中心部の独立広場付近で衝突し、警察の発表によりますと、警察官６人、デモ隊のメンバーら７人の合わせて１３人が死亡し、警察官１８０人以上がけがをしました。
一方、野党側によりますと、デモ隊にも１００人以上のけが人が出ているということです。
ウクライナの反政府デモを巡っては、先月死傷者が出た衝突のあと、内閣が混乱の責任を取って総辞職し、その後、政権側と野党側が協議を続けてきました。
しかしデモ隊の一部は、大統領の権限を縮小するための憲法改正やヤヌコービッチ大統領の辞任を求めていて、政権側も、デモ隊が過激な行動を続ける場合、強制的に排除することも辞さない構えで、緊迫した状況となっています。
Talks between Ukrainian govt, opposition fail as 20 killed in Kiev unrest ― RT News
‘Ukraine is just a stepping stone in Europe’s global game’ ― RT Op-Edge
Ukraine police charge protesters after nation's bloodiest day | Reuters
Ukrainian riot police charged protesters occupying a central Kiev square early on Wednesday after the bloodiest day since the former Soviet republic, caught in a geopolitical struggle between Russia and the West, won its independence.
US, EU are ‘neck deep’ in plan to see pro-Western regime change in Ukraine ― RT Op-Edge
US blames Ukrainian govt. for crisis, Moscow slams West for turning ‘blind eye’ on radicals ― RT News
"From this moment on, the USA holds Yanukovich responsible for everything that happens in Ukraine," US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey R. Pyatt told the Zerkalo Nedeli newspaper.
Moscow believes that this accusatory position of the US could have, in fact, contributed to the escalation of violence Kiev has been witnessing, and, holding the president solely responsible for the crisis, is giving carte blanche to extremist radical forces out on the streets.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement saying it considers the crisis “a direct result of the permissiveness policy exercised by those western politicians and European structures, who from the very beginning turned a blind eye to the aggressive actions of the radical forces in Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior believes the casualties in the clashes could have been killed by the radicals, because the police do not use fire arms.
"Taking into consideration the nature of the dead civilians’ wounds and also the nature of the weapons, which have been confiscated, we can assume that these wounds were inflicted by violent protesters,” a statement at the Ministry’s website says. “Police officers and interior troops do not use fire arms. Law enforcers are only using non-lethal weapons.”
During a phone call to Viktor Yanukovich, US Vice-President Joe Biden expressed “grave concern” at the surge of violence in the Ukrainian capital. Biden urged Yanukovich to exercise maximum restraint and pull back law enforcement confronting the rioters in downtown Kiev.
