Dozens wounded in Kiev violence as anti-government protests escalate

Protesters clash in Kiev

A scene of destruction in Kiev, where protesters burned four police buses and two lorries. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/Demotix/Corbis

Police – outnumbered by protesters armed with firebombs – respond with stun grenades, teargas and water cannon

(SOURCE)  The sound of stun grenades continue to ring out and charred vehicles are smouldering in Kiev after a night of fierce clashes between protesters and police.

Kiev

Ukranian police used cold water to disperse protesters as temperatures plunged in Kiev. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/Demotix/Corbis

The leaders of the opposition, including former heavyweight boxer Vitali Klitschko, dismissed the violence as the work of “provocateurs” and were due to hold negotiations with the government later on Monday.

The anti-government protests, which have beset Kiev for two months, escalated into fiery street battles with police on Sunday as thousands of demonstrators threw rocks and firebombs and set police vehicles on fire. Dozens of protesters were injured and 100 police sought medical attention, with 61 being admitted to hospital.

Police responded with stun grenades, teargas and, for the first time in the country’s history, water cannon, but were outnumbered by the protesters. Many of the riot police held their shields over their heads to protect themselves from the projectiles thrown by demonstrators on the other side of a cordon of buses.

Kiev

A protester throws stones over burning police cars. Photograph: Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA

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