Civil War in Ukraine and president flees the capital Kiev

Kiev, 22 February-2014(DailyMail): Ukraine’s president ‘flees capital’ and police abandon their posts as protesters claim control over central Kiev following peace deal to end three-month political crisis

Civil War in Ukraine and president flees the capital Kiev

Ukrainian protesters said they had taken control of the presidential administration building in central Kiev, as President Viktor Yanukovich allegedly fled the city today.
‘He’s not here, none of his officials or anyone linked directly to the administration are here,’ Ostap Kryvdyk, a protest leader inside the grounds of the administration building, said.
He said protesters had not used force to enter the compound.

Anti-government protesters sing the Ukrainian national anthem at the Independence square in central Kiev

People walk by a police water cannon brought by protesters to the Independence square

Protesters in the Ukrainian capital claimed full control of the city Saturday following the signing of a Western-brokered peace deal aimed at ending the nation’s three-month political crisis.
The nation’s embattled president, Viktor Yanukovych, reportedly had fled the capital for his support base in Ukraine’s Russia-leaning east
Police abandoned posts around the capital, and protesters took up positions around the presidential office and residence.
Parliament discussed voting on impeaching Yanukovych and setting a quick date for new elections to end a crisis over Ukraine’s identity and future direction.

Demonstrators at Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Independence Square, refuse to leave the square despite the agreement made between the government and the opposition

Protesters in the Ukrainian capital claimed full control of the city Saturday following the signing of a Western-brokered peace deal

After police abandoned posts around the capital, and protesters took up positions around the presidential office and residence

Yanukovych’s whereabouts were unclear Saturday morning. Media outlets reported that he left Kiev for his native eastern Ukraine after surrendering much of his powers and agreeing to early elections by the end of the year.
But despite the promise of an election and significant concessions, protesters blame him for police violence and amassing too many powers and want him ousted immediately.
At a special parliament session today, Oleh Tyahnybok, head of the nationalist Svoboda party, called for discussion of impeachment.
The parliament speaker — Yanukovych ally Volodymyr Rybak — announced resignation, citing ill health as the reason.
The president’s representative in parliament warned against splitting the country in two, an outcome that worries many but is increasingly seeming a possibility.

A priest is overcome with emotions as he holds a memorial service for protesters killed during clashes with the police, on the brinks of Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014. In a day that could significantly shift Ukraine¿s political destiny, opposition leaders signed a deal Friday with the country¿s beleaguered president that calls for early elections, a new constitution and a new unity government. (AP Photo/ Marko Drobnjakovic)

Anti-government protesters man a barricade on the outskirts of Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014. In a day that could significantly shift Ukraine¿s political destiny, opposition leaders signed a deal Friday with the country¿s beleaguered president that calls for early elections, a new constitution and a new unity government. (AP Photo/ Marko Drobnjakovic)

People gather at Independence Square during a funeral procession for anti-government protesters killed in clashes with the police in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014. In a day that could significantly shift Ukraine¿s political destiny, opposition leaders signed a deal Friday with the country¿s beleaguered president that calls for early elections, a new constitution and a new unity government. (AP Photo/ Marko Drobnjakovic)

The country’s western regions want to be closer to the EU and have rejected Yanukovych’s authority in many cities, while eastern Ukraine — which accounts for the bulk of the nation’s economic output — favors closer ties with Russia.
The president’s concessions came as part of a deal intended to end violence that killed scores and left hundreds wounded in Kiev this week as snipers opened fire on protesters. It was the worst violence in Ukraine’s modern history.
Andriy Parubiy, a leader of the protest camp on Independence Square, known as the Maidan, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that Yanukovych fled for Kharkiv, the center of Ukraine’s industrial heartland. Kharkiv was the capital of Soviet Ukraine from 1919-1934.
The claims of the president’s departure could not be immediately confirmed, however.
A group of protesters in helmets and shields stood guard at the president’s office today, with few police in sight.

Riot police leave the Presidential office in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014. Ukraine¿s opposition leaders signed a deal Friday with the president and European mediators for early elections and a new government in hopes of ending a deadly political crisis. Russian officials immediately criticized the deal and protesters angry over police violence showed no sign of abandoning their camp in central Kiev. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

Riot police leave the Presidential office in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014. Ukraine¿s opposition leaders signed a deal Friday with the president and European mediators for early elections and a new government in hopes of ending a deadly political crisis. Russian officials immediately criticized the deal and protesters angry over police violence showed no sign of abandoning their camp in central Kiev. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

Protesters booed opposition figures who took to a stage last night to present their deal with the president, which cuts Yanukovych’s powers.
“Death to the criminal!” some chanted, referring to Yanukovych.
A motion seeking the president’s impeachment was submitted late Friday to the Ukrainian parliament, where members of Yanukovych’s faction defected in droves to the opposition side, quickly passing constitutional amendments that trimmed his powers.
It wasn’t clear if or when the impeachment motion would be put to a vote.
The standoff between the government and protesters escalated this week, as demonstrators clashed with police and snipers opened fire in the worst violence the country has seen since the breakup of the Soviet Union a quarter-century ago.
The Health Ministry put the death toll at 77 and some opposition figures said it’s even higher.

From right, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Ukrainian opposition leaders, Vitali Klitschko, Oleg Tjagnibok and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych attend a signing ceremony of an agreement in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014. Ukraine¿s opposition leaders signed a deal Friday with the president and European mediators for early elections and a new government in hopes of ending a deadly political crisis. Russian officials immediately criticized the deal and protesters angry over police violence showed no sign of abandoning their camp in central Kiev. (AP Photo/Andrei Mosienko, Presidential Press Service, Pool)

People crowd the Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014. In a day that could significantly shift Ukraine¿s political destiny, opposition leaders signed a deal Friday with the country¿s beleaguered president that calls for early elections, a new constitution and a new unity government. (AP Photo/ Marko Drobnjakovic)

The U.S., Russia and the 28-nation EU are deeply concerned about the future of Ukraine, a divided nation of 46 million.
The parliament on Friday quickly approved a measure that could free Yanukovych’s arch-rival Tymoshenko, who has served two and a half years on a conviction of abuse of office, charges that domestic and Western critics have denounced as a political vendetta.
Legislators voted to decriminalize the count under which Tymoshenko was imprisoned, meaning that she is no longer guilty of a criminal offense.
However, Yanukovych must still sign that bill into law, and then Tymoshenko’s lawyers would have to ask the court for her release from prison in Kharkiv, the city controlled by Yanukovych’s loyalists where the opposition has little public following.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, left, and Ukrainian opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk attend a signing ceremony of the agreement in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014. Ukraine¿s opposition leaders signed a deal Friday with the president and European mediators for early elections and a new government in hopes of ending a deadly political crisis. Russian officials immediately criticized the deal and protesters angry over police violence showed no sign of abandoning their camp in central Kiev. (AP Photo/Andrei Mosienko, Presidential Press Service, Pool)

An opposition supporter and medical volunteer stands at a barricade near the Presidential office in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 21, 2014. Ukraine’s president gave in to pressure from European diplomats and offered concessions Friday to defuse a crisis that has divided his country and left scores dead. Shots rang out near Kiev’s protest camp and protesters fought among themselves about what to do next. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)