Ukraine's looking more and more like a war
zone.
There have been a few videos released of security
forces firing guns and sniper rifles at protesters...
none show it more clearly than this one.
The death toll has reached over fifty. There
were 21 bodies discovered in Independence
Square and another five confirmed in the nearby
Ukraine hotel. That's where a temporary aid
centre has been set up and it's also where
a lot of foreign journalists are staying.
But it's not even like it's just the protesters
in danger - there have been 12 confirmed police
deaths as the crowds chuck chunks of road
that have been dug up and hurl molotov cocktails
at the riot police.
Some of the protesters have also been accused
of using live ammunition.
Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko has asked
for calm on the streets but it seems to be
falling on deaf ears.
And meanwhile, the head of Kiev's city administration
has quit the ruling party but will continue
in his role, saying he felt personally responsible
for what's going on in the city.
Over in Lviv the regional assembly has declared
independence from the rest of the country.
There are also reports that in the same city
a police arsenal was overrun with protesters
taking more than 1,500 firearms.
The city's got a long history of anti-Soviet
and anti-Russian sentiment and see President
Yanukovich as being too closely linked to
Russia.
Just recently Yanukovich agreed to a fifteen
billion dollar bailout from Russia, overlooking
a similar deal with the EU.
The Euromaidan protests started around three
months ago with the opposition saying the
deal with the EU would be better for them
in the long term.
Those protests have since become far more
about removing Yanukovich from power and the
President has accused the demonstrators of
trying to organise a coup against him.
It's got so bad the Prime Minister of neighbouring
Poland, Donald Tusk, has warned that Ukraine
is slipping towards a civil war.
But to us it looks like more than that. It
looks like there's a bit old Cold War style
geo-politics going on.
The EU and US have given their support to
the protest movement and the EU is considering
imposing economic sanctions, asset freezes
and travel restrictions on Yanukovich.
The Russians have responded, saying the sanctions
would be absolutely illegitimate and will
aggravate the confrontation.
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister
has said the sanctions are, basically, the
equivalent to blackmail.
And The US has already issued visa bans on
twenty Ukrainian government officials that
it considers responsible for ordering human
rights abuses related to political oppression.
But meanwhile, on the streets people are continuing
to die and the violence is getting more and
more out of hand.
