Death toll in Kyiv clashes reaches 25 (updated)

PanARMENIAN.Net - 25 people have been killed in fighting between anti-government protesters and police in the capital Kyiv, the Ukrainian Health Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, Feb 19, according to Reuters.

The Interior Ministry said nine police officers were among the dead.

According to previous data, at least 18 people, including seven police officers, were killed Tuesday in bloody clashes in the Ukrainian capital that are threatening to tip the former Soviet nation into civil conflict.

With police engaged in an overnight battle to clear central Kyiv of anti-government protesters, fears abounded that the death toll could rise as eyewitnesses reported seeing bodies not apparently accounted for by the authorities, RIA Novosti reported.

The scale of the violence prompted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to appeal for restraint and “genuine dialogue” between authorities and the opposition. Russia, which has staunchly backed President Viktor Yanukovych, accused Western governments of fanning tension by interfering in Ukraine’s internal affairs.

Unrest erupted in the middle of the day as thousands of people marched on the parliament building, where a standoff was taking place over proposed constitutional reforms the opposition said could provide a way out of the political crisis paralyzing the country.

Groups of mainly young men in masks and helmets wielding shields were confronted by riot police, who deployed rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas. Pictures from the front lines showed rioters ripping up cobblestones to hurl at police.

Kyiv city law enforcement officials said that seven policemen were killed during the fighting and that almost 300 were injured, 35 of them critically.

Police said protesters initiated the escalation in violence by using firearms.

Opposition leaders urged demonstrators in the square to stand their ground and resist the onslaught of riot police.