Yanukovych condemned the occupation of administrative buildings and said the opposition and the government should united to find out who is responsible for the "provocation." He said he is opposed to people hiding behind "children" for their personal gains.
"You could say that from Friday to Saturday night, police went too far. And there is no place for justifying this. On the other hand, we understand that this is something they provoked."
"After the events of Friday and Saturday, the police chief was dismissed," he said.
Koryak submitted his resignation letter yesterday, but was rebuffed.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych noted the need to respect the laws of all parties during mass actions.
"When we say that we are building a democratic state, a democratic society - and we are all citizens of one country - it is important that members of the society and the ongoing processes comply with laws. It does not matter - whether government officials, law enforcement, or as participants in these shares. All should be required to obey the laws of our country "- Viktor Yanukovych said in an interview on Ukrainian television.
According to the President, it is important that actions were peaceful.
"Any expression of the will of people, any action - it confirms that everyone has not only a right but also an opportunity to express their point of view. But it is very important that these stocks always been peaceful, "- he stressed.
"I believe that anyone, even a bad peace is better than any good war itself" - said Viktor Yanukovych.
"In my opinion, it has very little to do with Ukraine's connection to the European Union."
A good follow-up question on the "pogrom" claim by "The Guardian's" Moscow correspondent.
The Kyiv Regional Council, led by the Party of Regions, has condemned the use of violence by police during protests and has proposed the establishment of a working group to assess the situation in the country.
"We respect everyone's right to peaceful assembly guaranteed in the Constitution, yet condemn the escalation of lawlessness and violence during the protests, including the use of force by police officers and the beating of journalists," said Anatoliy Prysiazhnyuk, head of the Kyiv Regional Administration.