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Riot police try to remove a barricade held by protesters on Independence Square in Kyiv early on December 11.
Riot police try to remove a barricade held by protesters on Independence Square in Kyiv early on December 11.

Live Blog: Kyiv Protesters Dig In

Updated
Final Wrapup (Barring major events)

-- EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said after an afternoon meeting that President Viktor Yanukovych pledged to her that "something should be done in the course of the next 24 hours."

-- Yanukovych then announced he had invited the opposition to participate in dialogue. He added that Ukrainian authorities would "act only within the law and never use force against peaceful assemblies."

-- Opposition parties have rejected negotiations unless all of their demands are met. UDAR leader Vitali Klitschko said the overnight crackdown on December 10-11 meant that "Yanukovich closed off the path to any kind of compromise."

-- Early on December 11, about 10 hours after police first began to clear Independence Square and other protest sites in Kyiv overnight, police withdrew from those locations. People have returned to Independence Square and are rebuilding barricades.

-- Former Interior Minister and Yulia Tymoshenko ally Yuriy Lutsenko announced that the next major rally in the capital was planned for December 13 and urged people to come to Independence Square.

-- Prime Minister Mykola Azarov announced that Ukraine was requesting 20 billion euros in financial aid from the European Union to help lay the groundwork for an Association Agreement.

-- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland went personally to Independence Square to hand out food to riot police and protesters, then met with President Viktor Yanukovych and said the United States believed it was still possible to save Ukraine's "European future." Secretary of State John Kerry had said earlier that he was "disgusted" by the government's overnight actions in Kyiv. A State Department spokesperson said all options, including sanctions, were on the table.

Glenn Kates and RFE/RL editors
17:32 11.12.2013
Via our Brussels correspondent. The European Commissioner for Enlargement had said yesterday that the EU was ready to provide "macro-financial assistance" to Ukraine in return for signing an Association Agreement.

17:22 11.12.2013
As announced earlier in the day, Tbilisi's City Hall now stands under the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Tbilisi's mayor, Giorgi Ugulava, is a member of former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's United National Movement. Saakashvili himself received a rousing reception when he spoke, in Ukrainian, on Independence Square last Saturday.

There is not total agreement in Georgia on the level of support Tbilisi should offer to the protesters, however. An attempt to adopt a resolution supporting protesters and condemning police violence sparked a brawl in Georgia's parliament today.

Georgia initialed an Association Agreement with the EU in Vilnius two weeks ago.


17:13 11.12.2013
U.S. Senator John McCain weighs in, calling last night's riot police raids "appalling."

"If Ukraine's government thinks that brute force and the politics of fear can see it through the current crisis, it is woefully mistaken," he says in a statement posted on his website. "More and more Ukrainians are showing that they are no longer afraid. Those brave men and women should know that they are not alone."
16:46 11.12.2013
In a statement from Yulia Tymoshenko, released by her Batkivshchyna party, the former prime minister calls on Western countries to "act."

"No talks, nor round tables with the gang, only immediate resignation of Yanukovych and his circle," she says.
16:39 11.12.2013
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports that two protesters detained recently for allegedly taking part in "mass disturbances" have been released from custody. A Kyiv district court found Yuriy Bolotov guilty of participating in mass rioting then fined him and ordered him released. The other protester, Mykola Lazarevskiy, was also released and placed under house arrest. The two were among several protesters arrested on December 1 after clashes with police in front of the presidential administration in the capital. All had been ordered detained for two months. The Ukrainian opposition has demanded the release of all those detained. President Viktor Yanukovych said this week that he will ask the prosecutor-general to seek ways to release some of the detainees.
16:22 11.12.2013
Viktor Yanukovych has invited the opposition to participate in a roundtable dialogue, the presidential press service has announced.

"The actions of all sides should conform exclusively to the laws and constitution of Ukraine," Yanukovych said in a statement, adding that all political forces as well as members of the clergy and public demonstrators would be invited to participate in a roundtable discussion.

He also said that authorities "will act only within the law and never take force against peaceful assembly.


Yanukovych's offer comes shortly after he promised EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton he would take steps in the next 24 hours to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

Earlier today, boxer and opposition leader Vitaliy Klitschko said the overnight police raid on Maidan meant that Yanukovych had "closed the path to any compromise."



16:07 11.12.2013
Kyiv's central train station also reopened, says "Kyiv Post," after bomb scare. Notably, the "Kyiv Post" says the inspection at Zhulyani airport is continuing (report elsewhere said it was already reopened).
16:03 11.12.2013
Not to the "highest bidder," as European Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly rejected earlier today, but it wouldn't help to have some high bidders in the mix.

Reuters just now:

European officials are in discussion with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other major financial institutions on ways to help Ukraine if it decides to sign a free-trade agreement with the European Union.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov was quoted as saying on Wednesday he had asked the EU for 20 billion euros ($27 billion) in aid to offset the cost of signing the EU deal, which Kiev backed away from last month in favour of closer ties with Russia, sparking huge street protests and a financial crisis.
15:50 11.12.2013
PACE's Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy has reminded Ukraine in a statement that as a Council of Europe member, the country "should fully respect European standards on freedom of assembly, expression and association." The committe called on "all sides in Ukraine to refrain from any acts of violence and intimidation which will further undermine the stability of the country, including its democratic process." It noted "concern...in particular following yesterday’s intervention by special police forces and recent acts of intimidation by the police against one of the main opposition parties, as well as media outlets."
15:49 11.12.2013
Start the clock.

Catherine Ashton has confirmed that Viktor Yanukovych has promised to take steps within the next 24 hours to resolve the crisis situation in Ukraine.
Speaking at a news conference following talks in Kyiv, Ashton said, "From what I've heard from the president, something should be done in the course of the next 24 hours. He spoke a great deal about the fact that he always wanted to see strong ties with the European Union, close ties." (Translated from Russian)

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